Lost Goddess
by persephone-goddess
Summary: Persephone has been living as a mortal for many years, having forgotten she was ever a goddess. What will happen when Olympos needs her back? Chapter 16 is up!
1. The Dream

A/N Disclaimer: I don't own the original characters of the gods and goddesses. I do own the plot and any mortal characters.

* * *

Prologue: The Dream  
  
The dream was always the same.  
  
_' A girl was sleeping in a bright green meadow surrounded by forests. She was watched over by other girls, who seemed to be her friends, but one by one, they dropped off to sleep themselves. The girl in the center awoke and walked into the forest, seeming to be in a trance. A woman appeared and followed her. She caught up with the girl and spoke a name that reverberated through the sky.  
  
"Persephone...'_   
  
Then the man in the chariot came up through the black chasm in the Earth, and took the girl – who had awakened – back with him. She went with him willingly, not kidnapped like the myths said when they were taught in school.  
  
Kora could never remember what happened next in the dream. Small scenes appear momentarily in her mind's eye...  
  
_'galloping horses burning river darkness all around plants shriveling red red seeds'_   
  
...but nothing stayed long enough for her to try to figure it out. It annoyed her to no end, for she wanted to know what happened to the Persephone in her dream.  
  
The dream came only on the second of the month, and Kora would awaken from it at one minute to three o'clock, drenched in cold sweat. There had been something horribly frightening at the end, but she couldn't remember!  
  
She couldn't remember.  
  
As far as she knew, that was how her life had always been, with the dream coming once a month and scaring her half to death. Then, one week after she had celebrated her sixteenth birthday, one week after the February dream, everything changed. 


	2. Grandmother

Chapter Two: Grandmother  
  
It was raining that day, not unusual for February, and Kora paused on the front porch after returning home from school. She loved cold, cloudy days more than anything, and the scent of rain in the air only made it better. The chill breeze whipped around her face, reddening her normally pale cheeks and tossing her golden hair around. It made the girl feel more alive than she had in ages.  
  
It was then that she noticed that the front door was slightly open and a light was streaming out from inside. She stared at it in surprise, wondering who was in her house. It couldn't be her mother, as it was still early afternoon and she wouldn't be home for a few hours. A burglar? What burglar would turn on the lights and leave the door open?  
  
All of a sudden there came a loud crash from inside, and then a woman's voice spoke, sounding dismayed. "Oh dear, I've broken the plate. Not a good start." Then she laughed and uttered a surprising remark, "Well, don't just stand out on the porch all day! You'll catch your death of cold! Come inside, Kore!"  
  
The girl pushed open the door and instinctively corrected the stranger. "Kora. Not Kore. My name is Kora. Um, by the way, who are you and what are you doing in my house?"  
  
The woman's green eyes saddened and her entire body seemed to wilt. "I'm your grandmother, Rhea. I suppose your mother hasn't reminded you of me, but I remember you very well. I am surprised that she changed your name though; I thought Kore suited you perfectly." She looked downcast for a few moments, and then perked up instantly and continued chatting as if nothing had happened. "So we simply must call Demeter and convince her to let you go back to the family reunions, we all miss you so. That's why I came to visit today, you know! We miss our Kore! There's one who misses you in particular, you'll remember him, of course." She sighed. "Life just isn't the same without him and your mother bickering about you all the time."  
  
"Mother!!!! What in the name of Olympos are you doing here?!"  
  
The two turned around in surprise at the sudden outburst from the doorway, as Kora's mother Demi marched into the room. Kora was having trouble understanding what was going on. Up until that day, she had firmly believed that her mother was her only living relation, believed the story she had been told of the tragic fire that killed her family years ago. But now there was a strange woman in her kitchen claiming to be her grandmother, and it was obviously true, as Demi had called her "Mother."  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud order from Demi. "Kora! Go to your room right now!"  
  
"But....."  
  
"No buts! Upstairs or there will be hell to pay!" It wasn't a good idea to argue with her mother when she got into one of her moods, so Kora hurried to her room. As soon as her door closed, she heard an argument erupt downstairs, and the walls made no effort to hide the angry shouts.  
  
"I cannot believe the nerve of you, just marching into my house like this!! I made it perfectly clear long ago that I wanted nothing more to do with you people. Kora is happy living like a normal teenager and she's forgotten everything that happened before and I like it that way! Why can't you just leave us alone?"  
  
"The Earth can't go one like this, Demeter! You are neglecting your duties, and she is neglecting hers by your own stubbornness! The world is dying and you just turn a blind eye to the starving people, to the destroyed forests, to mankind's utter disregard to the environment! Unless you stop killing the memory of that poor child, the Gods will be the only living things on the planet! The bargain must be fulfilled, or Fate will lose control entirely."  
  
Kora listened in disbelief to what the lady (she still couldn't quite believe she had a grandmother) was saying. What was this about Gods, and killing her memory, and the Earth being destroyed?  
  
Rhea continued ranting about the irresponsibility of Demeter....apparently that was Demi's real name. What else had her mother kept from her? She ended with the most shocking statement that had ever reached Kora's ears. "Kore is a Goddess, Demeter, and she needs to be among the rest of her family. You are being cruel to her in keeping with your own selfish beliefs. Zeus has given you one week to tell her the truth – and remember, she's his daughter too! – or we will come take her away from you permanently. She must rejoin Olympos as Kore and the Underworld as Persephone." With that, Rhea lifted her arms and disappeared in a flash of golden smoke, leaving nothing to indicate she had been there. 


	3. The Note

Chapter Three: The Note  
  
Demeter sighed and let her head fall onto the table. That "discussion" with her mother had been the last thing she needed right then. Why couldn't her family just realize that she and Kore could live happily by themselves? Why did she have to constantly worry about the fate of mankind? And why had the Fates hated her so much as to make her be born a Goddess?  
  
"Well?" came an angry voice from beside her.  
  
She slowly raised her head to look at her daughter and the change in her was frightening. Demeter hadn't seen that side of Kore (was she even Kore when she looked like that, or had she changed to Persephone?) since the ancient times. The girl's normally sea-blue eyes had hardened to ice and were flashing with an uncontrolled rage. Her very soul was churning with immense hatred, and its power radiated out through the entire room. If Kore had been aware of her true abilities as a Goddess, her mother knew that it would be incredibly dangerous to be in that room right then. It was going to take all of Demeter's own powers to make her daughter forget what she had just heard.  
  
Kore didn't give her mother time to answer. "What was that conversation all about? Seems like you've been hiding a hell of a lot of information from me. Since when do I have a _grandmother?_ _Since when am I a Goddess?_ Why would you do this to me? Are you really so cruel as to keep the fact that I have a family a secret?"  
  
_'No!!!!'_ Demeter screamed inside herself. _'I just wanted to protect you from the horrible curse of immortality! Don't you understand what a burden it is, trying to help the humans survive all the time?_' Aloud she calmly stated, "You must have had a bad fall, Kora. You're imagining things. You do not have any family besides me." Destroying her own daughter's memory made Demeter feel awful, but she believed that anything was better than letting her rejoin the Underworld, or forcing her to work so hard to keep the mortals alive.  
  
"Mother, I know what I heard!" Kora shouted, but the anger in her eyes was slowly being replaced by a hurt confusion. "You said.....you called her your mother.....and she said that I was a Goddess.....she called me something.....Perse-"  
  
"No, Kora. You fell down and hit your head, and you thought you saw something. I came home early because I had a headache, and I found you fainted on the ground, but now you're awake." Demeter pushed her mind's power against Kora's, and the girl's weakened and broke. She could now only remember what her mother was telling her, and she believed it wholeheartedly.  
  
"Oh.....it was so real.....I thought it had really happened."  
  
"You should go to your room now and rest. You don't want to have any more of those frightening visions, do you?"  
  
"No, Mother." Kora walked carefully up the stairs, thinking about what had just happened. For some reason, she couldn't shake the feeling that something more important than a bump on the head had occurred. Her mother seemed upset and angry, but she couldn't figure out why. She tried to search her memory for any idea to what might have happened, but it was like trying to decipher one of her cryptic dreams. There was a brick wall preventing her from finding anything useful.  
  
Inside her room Kora plopped down on her bed and then started up again in shock as she noticed an owl staring at her from outside the window. It had a piece of paper clutched in its beak, and it looked at her quizzically as if to say, "Well? What are you waiting for? Let me in!" She tentatively opened the window, and the bird flew inside, dropped the paper, and soared back out again, clearly happy to be done playing messenger.  
  
The paper turned out to be a note reading,  
  
'I'm sorry we didn't have more of a chance to talk before your mother came home. I find it hard to believe sometimes that she is actually my daughter, but I know she is doing what she thinks is right. It has gone on for too long though, and it is far time that she allows to become your true self. Zeus has given her a week to tell you of her own will, but I know her well enough to know that she will never do that.  
  
'When you go to school tomorrow, you will meet a few "new students" who may seem rather odd. I apologize for them in advance, but they are not accustomed to the mortal world. Do not be scared off by them, they are family and want to help you.

'I hope to speak to you again soon,

'-Your grandmother.'  
  
Kora stepped away from the note as if it were a bomb, her heart pounding fast in her chest. The memories that her brain had blocked out suddenly came rushing back at her. It hadn't been a dream after all. It had actually happened.  
  
The rational part of her brain told her that it couldn't possibly be true. There were no Gods, the lady in the kitchen had been insane and she was lucky that her mother had come home before someone had gotten hurt. Kora decided not to believe it and turned back to where she had placed the note on her dresser to tear it up.  
  
But the paper had disappeared. The only clue that it had ever been there was a single white owl feather. And by the time Kora woke up the next morning, she had forgotten everything about the night before. 


	4. School

Chapter Four: School  
  
"Hey! Kore! Wait up!"  
  
Kora turned around in surprise to see an unfamiliar girl running to catch up with her. She had curly red hair and green eyes and was lugging an incredibly full backpack on her shoulders. The girl quickly reached her and started chatting as though they'd been friends for years.  
  
"So, how've you been? I can't believe we haven't talked in so long, but it was hard when your mom took you away and forbid you from ever seeing us again." The redhead's eyes widened as she suddenly stopped in mid- sentence. "Wait, I wasn't supposed to tell you that yet! Hi, my name's Emily Starr! Who are you?"  
  
"Um...Kora. Kora Smith. Have I seen you before?"  
  
Emily's look changed to one of nervousness, but she quickly answered, "No. No, you just looked like someone from my old school and I got confused for a minute. That happens sometimes. So, you go to West Valley High School, right? It's my first day, my dad just got transferred to a new job here." Emily babbled on and on for the rest of the walk to school, not seeming to need any response from Kora to keep talking. When they finally saw the green and white painted buildings of West Valley High, Kora made an excuse about having to ask her science teacher about a test and hurried off.  
  
Emily continued to walk around the school, completely amazed at how many students there were milling around. She was just deciding that maybe she should try to find her first period class when she ran into her sister, Selene.  
  
"Hey Eos, how's it going? What did you find out from Kore on the way to school?" asked Selene, the Goddess of the moon. She had been sent, along with three other deities, to masquerade as high school students and, eventually, to bring Kore back to Olympos and her duties as a Goddess.  
  
"_Emily_, not Eos, remember? Anyway, _Celine_, Kore doesn't remember anything at all about us or what Demeter did. I think she was a little freaked out by me, I guess most teenagers aren't very exuberant about meeting new people." Just then, the bell rang, breaking up the conversation and sending the two in different directions.  
  
Kora, meanwhile, was not-quite-overjoyed to find herself sitting next to a new boy in her Chem class. He stared at her unnervingly for the entire class, not paying attention to anything the teacher was talking about. The bell had rung before she finally got up the nerve to acknowledge that he was sitting next to her. "Why have you been staring at me for the past hour?"  
  
"Hey. My name's Hal Jones. So, like, you wanna go out sometime?" he asked, seeming to think that she would actually consider it. She was so taken aback by this response that she didn't know whether to punch him or...well, actually, punching him was a very tempting idea. But for safety's sake, she chose a derisive laugh and started walking to her choir class.  
  
"Is that a yes or a no?" Hal said as he followed her.  
  
_'Okay, this guy is definitely one of the dumber jocks I've met,_' thought Kora, but she decided to talk to him. "Look, I'm sure you're a, um, great person, but I just met you and I don't think that you even know my name, let alone whether or not we have anything in common."  
  
It was his turn to laugh. "Oh, I know tons about you! Your name is Kore – wait, no, Kora – Smith, you like gardening, singing, and reading, you turned sixteen last week, by the way, happy belated birthday, your favorite color is purple...Shall I go on?"  
  
He could not know all that, it wasn't possible. Kora stared at him in horrified disbelief for a minute before she took off running to the safety and logic of the music room. She sincerely hoped that tomorrow her science teacher would let them switch seats.

* * *

Her day had not improved at all by the time she sat down to lunch three hours later. Although choir and history had been uneventful, she had met yet another new student in her P.E. class. This one, called Celine, had also thought her name was Kore, just like Hal and Emily. School was getting just too weird for words. The three had to be playing a trick on her or something.  
  
"Hi," came a voice from above her. She looked up and saw a boy holding a lunch tray. "Do you mind if I sit here, Kore?"  
  
That was that last straw. She started shouting at him, not noticing his surprised expression at her outrage. "Why?! Why are you people doing this to me?! I have never seen any of you before in my life, and suddenly you all appear out of nowhere, you call me Kore and that's not my name, you talk to me like we've known each other all our lives and it's really freaking me out!!! Please just leave me alone!" Kora ran out of the room, leaving her lunch behind. Everyone burst out laughing at the bewildered Hades still standing at the table.  
  
It took a while for the cafeteria to go back to normal after that outburst, but eventually groups of students turned back to their own conversations and Hades became unnoticed once again. Except for Eos, Selene, and Hermes rushing over to talk to him.  
  
"Wow, maybe we should be a little more subtle when we talk to her. She's kinda losing it," said Eos, stating the obvious as the four sat down together. "I don't get it though. Rhea said that she left her a note yesterday evening, she can't be so much in denial."  
  
"Demeter's control over her daughter is very strong. It will be hard to break it, and even more difficult for Persephone to accept the reality of the situation. She has been living as a mortal for – I think it must be at least fifty years," replied Hades quietly. "I think it would be best to approach her after she's had a chance to calm down. I also think we must refrain from saying anything that we shouldn't already know, especially you, Hermes." He frowned at the god. "And please do not ask her out ever again."  
  
"Hey, sorry, I just thought it would be polite. She's cute."  
  
"Yeah, well, next time, try to remember that she's married, doofus," snickered Selene. "Even if _she's_ forgotten. But," she sighed, "I don't think she's ever going to let any of us talk to her again. We did a great job of scaring her off. Now we're going to fail our job and all the mortals will starve and we'll be pretty much responsible for bringing around the end of the world. Oh well. What do you guys think that Zeus'll do to us?"  
  
"It's not over yet, Celine. I'm going to try talking to her after school. Wish me luck."  
  
"You're gonna need it. Good luck, Hades." With that, the immortals stood up and went their separate ways. 


	5. Hades

Chapter Five: Hades  
  
Hades stood by the front entrance to the high school, waiting for Kora. He was almost shaking from nervousness, worried that she would be just as uncooperative about talking to him now as she had been during lunch. Luckily for him, she had calmed down greatly since then, and greeted him politely after he said hello. She had, in fact, been feeling a little guilty about shouting at a stranger, so she was glad for the opportunity to apologize.  
  
"Look, I'm really sorry about that...outburst in the cafeteria. I had a really weird morning and I guess I was kinda stretched to the breaking point. I shouldn't have taken my bad day out on you," Kora said, hoping that she wasn't blushing as red as a tomato. This was not her idea of an ideal introduction to a cute guy.  
  
He smiled, relieved that she was in a better mood. "It's no problem, we all have off-days sometimes. My name is Hades." He had considered choosing an alias like the others had, but decided against it.  
  
"I'm Kora Smith. It's nice to meet you." She paused, trying to think of something to continue the conversation. "Um...do you walk home this way?"  
  
"Yes, I do. Would you mind walking with me?" he inquired.  
  
"No, of course I wouldn't mind." They started to silently walk down the street together, neither one sure of what to say to the other. A car drove up, but instead of going past them, the driver stopped the car and rolled down a window to talk to Hades.  
  
"Hey, Hades, my man!" grinned Hal. "Ya know, she said she wouldn't go out with me. How come you get all the chicks?"  
  
Hades glared at him. "Hal. How nice to see you again so soon," he said through clenched teeth. He and Kora exchanged a glance that said _'Let's get rid of this guy as soon as we can.'_  
  
A few minutes later they had reached her house, all the while being forced to politely listen to Hal's semi-literate talking as he drove along beside them. "So then I was, like, 'There's no _way_ that you can throw that football farther than me' and he was all, like, 'Ya wanna bet?' and then we, like...um, _threw_ the football - "  
  
"Okay, this is my house. Hades, would you like to come in and have something to eat?" Kora threw a glance at Hal. "I guess you could too if you want, Hal..."  
  
"Oh, no, no, I gotta go like, um, do something," he quickly said, finally noticing the murderous glares that Hades was throwing at him. He drove away and the other two walked into the forest-green painted house.  
  
Kora walked up the steps to the door. "Wanna come in?" Hades nodded and followed. "Do you want a soda? We have Pepsi, Sprite Remix, and, well, that's it." She made a mental note to tell her mother to get more soda.  
  
"Do you have any juice?" Kora pulled her head out of a cabinet, raising an eyebrow. Hades shrugged, looking embarrassed. "I don't really like soda.....too fake-tasting." Kora moved toward the refrigerator and yanked the door open.  
  
"Yeah. My mom's a heath nut. We got orange, grape, and a little of apple left."  
  
"Grape's good."  
  
"Any reason?"  
  
"It tastes more like wine." Kora shook her head. This guy just got stranger and stranger. She poured some of the purple liquid into a glass and leaned against a counter, popping the lid on her Sprite.  
  
"So. What do you wanna talk about?"  
  
"Death?"  
  
"Seriously."  
  
"Death."  
  
Well, that was how the conversation started. Eventually Kora managed to turn the talk to where Hades had lived before he moved to Sunnyvale (he was born in California but had been living in Greece). They talked about their favorite music, food, hobby, etc. and discovered that they had a large amount of things in common, not in the least their mutual obsession with Greek mythology. Finally Hades brought up the subject that had been weighing on his mind.  
  
"Kora...I was wondering...would you consider going out on a date with me sometime?" He looked so nervous that she had to smile. "Next Friday, maybe? I know this really nice restaurant that I'm sure you'd like..."  
  
"Sure, that sounds great!" He stared at her for a moment before a humongous grin broke out on his face. He seemed about to say something, but was cut off by a loud cough from the door leading into the living room. They both turned around to see her mother standing there, obviously trying very hard to remain calm.  
  
"Kora. Dear. Who is this young man?" Inside, Demeter was boiling mad. This was the second day in a row that she had come home to find Kora talking to an immortal that she was supposed to know nothing about. Fifty years with no trouble from any of them, but now the Fates were sending the two most likely to make trouble – namely, Persephone's husband and grandmother.  
  
Hades gulped, then said, "Hello, you must be Kora's mother. I'm Hades, one of her friends from school. I'm new here, and Kora invited me in for a snack, but I just remembered that I have to go home now." He turned back to Kora. "Thank you very much for the juice, I'll see you tomorrow, good-bye." The visibly shaken God left the house as quickly as possible, not exactly thrilled to have had Demeter discover he was there so quickly.  
  
Once he was gone, Demeter turned calmly to her daughter. "I forbid you to go out with him." She then started towards the stairs, but knew that her daughter would not let the matter rest easily.  
  
"Excuse me?" Kora shook her head, unwilling to believe her mother would do that. "Did I really hear you say that? Since when are you allowed to choose who I date? I happen to like Hades, and I have every intention of keeping our date next week."  
  
"Kora, you will listen to me as long as you are living in this house. I don't trust that...boy, and you will not go out with him. Tomorrow you are going to tell him that you can't go, and that will be the last time you speak to him. He is trouble." Demeter hadn't wanted to mentally force Kora, but she began to gather her mind-power in readiness. To her surprise, the girl stopped arguing.  
  
"Fine." She stalked off to her room, fuming, but forming a plan in her head. Next Friday she could tell her mother that she was sleeping over at her friend Lily's house, but instead go out with Hades. It would be a lot easier than arguing the issue all afternoon.  
  
The next morning at school, Hades seemed to expect that the date was called off. She told him that her mother had finally caved and agreed to let her go.  
  



	6. The Date

Chapter Five:  
  
"Thanks for letting me sleep over," Kora told her friend Lily on the phone. Demeter smiled to herself. Kora had forgotten all about Hades, and all without any mind control. Happily, Demeter walked to her room.  
  
"I can't believe she's buying it!" Lily told Kora via her cell phone.  
  
Kora laughed quietly. "I know. Mom is acting like I'm her perfect little angel. It's kind of weird. Maybe she knows the truth. She's probably just acting like she believes me..."  
  
Lily sighed with exasperation. "Kora, please. You've told her that you're staying at my house tomorrow night. Tell her we're going to see a movie. You go on your date, come back to my place, and tell me all the juicy details! It's foolproof."  
  
"I guess so..."  
  
"Just trust me. Now, what does this guy look like?"

* * *

"Presenting the Lord Hades, God of the Underworld, the Lord Hermes, Messenger of the Olympians, the Lady Selene, Goddess of the Moon, and the Lady Eos, Goddess of the Dawn." Iris smiled at the bewildered expressions on the four immortals' faces. "New protocol. Zeus is being extra weird lately."  
  
"AHEM! That will be all, Iris, thank you." Scowling, Zeus walked over to the group. "I am not happy with the way this whole 'mission' is proceeding. There is too much interaction with mortals going on. There has to be a better way to get Kore back." Selene rolled her eyes at her cousin.  
  
"Zeus, please. It's going fine. Nothing to get your tunic in a twist." Zeus glared at her.  
  
"That will be all from you, Lady Selene. Hades, why is this taking so long? You said you'd have her back here right away!" Hades entertained various images of himself strangling his brother. It managed to calm him for a moment.  
  
"We can't just throw a bag over her head and cart her up here in a wheel barrow! She's going to scream, or kick, or scratch, and you haven't been scratched until she gouges your arm off." The other gods laughed. Zeus did not.  
  
"I suppose you'd know all about that, right, Hades?"  
  
The laughter abruptly stopped. Hades narrowed his eyes. "Just what is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"Well, she must have put up a fight when you took her away from Demeter. I can't imagine any goddess going off with you willingly. It's really too bad that's the only way you could ever get a wife – kidnapping her and forcing her to marry you." Zeus raised an eyebrow. "Did she 'gouge your arm off' trying to keep you away from her?"  
  
He realized, belatedly, that he had gone too far. Hades stood up, and without a word of warning, punched his brother in the nose. Ignoring the exclamations of surprise and anger from the observers, he strode out of the throne room, still burning with anger. Practically running in his haste to be off Olympos and all of its inane façades, he didn't see Hestia until he had run into her.  
  
"Hades? What's the matter?" He didn't seem inclined to stop and talk to her, so she grabbed his hair as he was walking away and pulled. Hard.  
  
"Dammit, Hestia! In case it wasn't apparent, I am not in the mood for a conversation at the moment!" He angrily pulled out of her grasp, but didn't leave, merely glowering at her in a way that made most (smart) people run screaming for cover.  
  
She held his gaze calmly, unafraid of her little brother's trademark 'Keep Away From Me' look. "Hades, you should know better. Maybe it works on the rest of the family, but I am your big sister and it doesn't scare me."  
  
He sighed, finally dropping his eyes. "Fine. I came here, as asked, to talk about how things are going with Persephone. Zeus is mad because we can't just bring her up here right away and brainwash her back into immortality. So he starts again with that whole kidnapping thing, which everyone knows never happened, so I...kinda lost control and punched him. Can I go now?"  
  
"You don't try very hard to be the most popular God on Olympos, do you?" Hestia commented. Hades said nothing, scowling steadfastly at the floor as if it was Zeus' face instead of marble. "You'd better hurry up. Zeus is not going to be happy about his new injury."

* * *

At six o'clock the next evening, Kora walked into to the kitchen where her mother was sitting at the table, going over some accounts from the gardeners' shop where she worked. "Mom? I'm going to go to Lily's place now, okay? I've got my overnight stuff."  
  
"Okay, dear, have fun at the movies. See you tomorrow morning." Kora hurried out the door, half-expecting her mother to stop her and state that she knew exactly what her daughter was planning on doing that night, but she got to her friend's house without incident. Once there, Lily rushed her into her outfit and make-up, before turning her attention to Kora's hair.  
  
"Now, ideally we should have taken you to a salon and had it professionally done, but I think that might have made your mother suspicious. So do you want to just leave it down, or can I experiment with it?" Kora grimaced. Lily was known for "experimenting" with her own hair, which was currently a shocking shade of neon purple, glittery, and cut in a zigzag pattern an inch above her shoulders.  
  
"Err...I like my hair down," she said, not wanting to hurt Lily's feelings, but also not wanting to have to go on her date with her hair a color not normally found in the natural world. Her friend looked disappointed for a few seconds, but then brightened up and returned to her cheerful talking.  
  
"That's okay, Kora, I guess bright colors aren't for everyone. And you do look good with your hair just down, cause it's so long and wavy. You kinda look like one of those Greek goddesses that you're always talking about, maybe even Persephone. Ya know, cause he's Hades." She grinned. "You two are destined for each other." At that moment the doorbell rang and Kora went a shade of gray that would put one in mind of a recently deceased person.  
  
"Oh dear God it's him I can't do this. I can't believe I agreed to go on a date with him. I hardly know him. My mom would kill me if she found out. Lily?" She turned to her friend with a desperate look on her face. "Can you answer the door and tell him that I'm dead or I moved away or something?"  
  
"Nope, nope, too late to back out now!" Lily ran to the door and opened it, widening her eyes in surprise. She turned back to Kora and stage whispered, "You were right, he's really cute!"  
  
Blushing furiously, Kora greeted Hades and then turned back to glare at Lily. "I'll be back by twelve at the latest. If my mom calls, please do not tell her that I'm out with Hades."  
  
"Can do! See you later!" called Lily as the two walked down the driveway to where Hades' car was parked.  
  
When Kora didn't return that night, Lily figured that the two had gotten along _very_ well and had simply gone somewhere to spend the night. She wasn't worried, just a little peeved that she hadn't been called first. When Kora's mother called the next day around noon, Lily still covered for her friend and said that she was planning on staying for a while longer. But when Demi called again that evening, asking for her daughter to come home, Lily was forced to admit that Kora had gone out with Hades the night before, that she had promised to be back by midnight – and that Lily hadn't heard from her since she left. 


	7. Olympos

Chapter 6: Olympos  
  
_She was dancing around and around, arms out flung, laughing with the pure joy of being alive on such a bright day. A crown of flowers sat precariously atop her blonde hair, petals falling from it with every step she took. She thought happily of her mother, who had granted her an entire day to do as she wished as a present for her sixteenth birthday. Tomorrow, the day she would be an adult goddess, she would have to begin her work as a grown member of the Pantheon, but today was one last chance for her to be a little girl.  
  
She and her friends spent the day as they had so many times over the past years – picking flowers and weaving them into jewelry, swimming in the nearby river, playing children's games in the forest and meadow. By the afternoon, they were exhausted. They spread their veils down on the grass and fell asleep.  
  
Kore (for that was what the young goddess was named) awoke long before the others. She sat there for a long time thinking about everything she was going to miss about being a child. The sleeping nymphs who surrounded her would never have to give up their youth. They were destined to be forever childish and carefree, while she, as the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, would have to leave the Earth and go to live on Mount Olympos with the rest of her family. Sighing, she lay back down and tried to fall asleep.  
  
"Persephone..."  
  
She sat up with a start. Where had that voice come from?  
  
"Persephone..."  
  
It was calling her. She had never heard that name before, but it summoned her to follow it.  
  
"Persephone..."  
  
The forest! That's where it was! She had to go see who was calling...no, she shouldn't. Those poplar trees were bad luck and no good could come of wandering away from the open when all of her attendants were sleeping. She might get lost, or come across an unfriendly creature – not much could hurt a goddess, but she hadn't gained her full power yet. And if one of the nymphs woke before she returned and called Demeter, she would get in trouble. Yes, she would stay here where it was safe.  
  
"Persephone..."  
  
No, she would go.  
  
Kore walked into the forest, shivering at the sudden disappearance of the sun. There was no sign of anyone who could have been calling her. She kept going, farther into the woods.  
  
"Persephone..."  
  
The voice had come from directly behind her. She spun around, ready to fight, but stopped short upon seeing a woman of about the same age of her mother. The woman was obviously a goddess, with long silver hair and black eyes. She was tall and slender, and her skin looked to have never seen the sun.  
  
Neither goddess said anything from that point on. They continued walking for a few minutes, and then stopped in a small clearing. An ominous rumbling came from deep inside the earth, and the ground split as a chariot drawn by four black horses came out of the ground. The driver offered his arm to Kore, and she took it, stepping into the chariot as if in a trance. The horses and riders disappeared into the cavernous hole as Hekate manifested back to Olympos and the forest returned to normal_.

* * *

Kora awoke with a start, gasping for air as she always did after one of her dreams, but frightened of how much it had shown her. She replayed the scene over and over again in her mind, worried about the reality of the events. In all of the other dreams she had watched as Kore went to the Underworld with Hades. This time, however, she had lived it.  
  
She decided to call up Lily and ask her what she thought about the new dream, then froze as memories of the night before came rushing back into her memory. She shouldn't need to call Lily; she should be at Lily's house at that moment. Looking around the room, Kora determined that she was definitely not in any place that she recognized. The room was huge, and seemed to be made out of white marble. She was lying on a large blue velvet couch, covered in a white blanket. Standing up slowly, she made her way over to the other side of the room, where she could see sunlight peeking out from behind the edges of the drapes that covered nearly the entire wall. She threw open the curtains, momentarily blinded by the light, but hoping to see a familiar street or yard.  
  
The only thing she saw was clouds and sky, lots and lots of clouds and sky.  
  
Frowning, Kora tried to see farther down, but the window was small and set too high. She noticed a door that had also been obscured by the drapes and stepped outside, nearly fainting when she saw where she was.  
  
It appeared that she was in some sort of building that had been built on the top of a very, very tall mountain. She could see more buildings beneath her room, and if she craned her neck upwards, even more above it. Below it all, the mountain stretched on forever, ending in a meadow so far down she could hardly see it.  
  
This was too much. Kora remembered that she had gone on a date with Hades the night before. She remembered that she was supposed to have spent the night at Lily's house. But she had no idea of how she had gone from eating dinner in a nice café with Hades to waking up in a palace-like building on top of a mountain.  
  
"Kore?"  
  
She slowly turned around to face Emily Starr. Only this wasn't the same Emily that had greeted her on the way to school a week ago. This Emily was dressed in a pale yellow robe that Kora had seen drawings of in books about ancient Greece. She had her hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun and was wearing a lot of gold jewelry. She looked sheepish, and when Kora didn't say anything, stared talking in a very high-pitched voice.  
  
"Okay, I know that you're probably very very upset about all of this, not to mention confused, but we had to do something to get Demeter to realize the seriousness of the situation so we've kidnapped you and brought you back to Olympos. And w-" She cut off, looked very annoyed, when Kora burst into a fit of laughter. "I don't know what's so funny about this!"  
  
"Oh, come on, Emily, you really expect me to believe this? This is a dream! I don't know where my subconscious got all this stuff, but there's no other way this could work! Wow, I must have eaten something weird at dinner last night." She walked back inside with a perturbed Emily following. "So, when does the bogeyman jump out from under the bed?"  
  
"Kora, listen to me!" Emily shouted. "This is not a dream! You are on Mount Olympos, and you are a Goddess! The rest of your family is waiting for you in the courtroom and I am expected to bring you out there any minute now."  
  
Kora closed her eyes and pinched herself, tired of listening to a figment of her imagination yell at her. She opened them again and shrieked when she found herself being dragged out of the room by that same figment.  
  
"Stop it, Emily! You can't be able to do this! You are just an illusion! Any minute now I'm going to wake up and I am never going to eat at that café again and – who the hell are they supposed to be?" She added that last remark as the two girls emerged from the room to find at least twenty people staring at her. Emily turned back to Kora.  
  
"You can believe what you want to for now, but it's not going to change anything. I am not Emily, I am Eos, and I am also a Goddess. These people" – here she waved a hand to indicate them – "are your family and Immortals as well." Eos turned to the large group that was still staring at them. "May I present the Lady Kore-Persephone, Goddess of Springtime, Queen of the Underworld, and, apparently, Queen of Denial as well."  
  
"I'm not in denial!" snapped Kora. "This is a dream, and I'm going to wake up and-" A tall woman with black hair and wearing a flowing turquoise and purple robe stepped forward. She had a regal and majestic air and looked down at Kora with disdain in her cold green eyes.  
  
"You, Kore, are the goddess of spring, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, and nothing you say is going to change it. I am Hera, Queen of the Gods, and when I say you will accept something you will," Kora backed away from the queen. She felt she should apologize, but couldn't seem to talk. Hera had power, and she knew how to use it.  
  
"Hera, leave her alone. You can't really blame her for being so upset." The rest of the crowd hid the speaker, but the voice sounded familiar. "I mean, she's been living as a mortal for fifty years and now we bring her here and tell her that she's one of the most powerful beings on the planet! If we had been able to convince her more gradually, we wouldn't have this problem, but...of course, I'm not saying that Zeus was _wrong_ in his thinking..."  
  
Suddenly realizing whom it was, Kora pushed her way through the crowd to find Hades. He smiled apprehensively when he saw her glaring at him. "Er...hello, Persephone. How are y – ouch!" She had abruptly slapped him as hard as she could. "Okay, I might have deserved that..."  
  
"Of course you deserved it! I'm not entirely sure how I ended up here, but I do know that the last memory I have was eating in a café with you! So I'm figuring that you were the one who thought up this inane plan to bring me to a stupid mountain palace and try to convince me that I'm a freakin' g_oddess_ and you somehow thought I would be okay with this? What is wrong with you people?! I'm not okay with this, I'm confused and I'm very, very, very angry!" Hades opened his mouth as if to speak but she slapped him again and he thought better of it.  
  
"Kore!" Another person stepped forward. Celine, in a slivery-blue version of the dress Eos had been wearing, grabbed her arm to keep her from slapping Hades again. "Kore, listen, please-"  
  
"I don't want to listen! I want to go home!" Kora shouted as loud as she could. The other people looked at her with pity. "Please don't tell me you're a goddess too," she added weakly.  
  
"I'm Selene. Kore, if you listen to us, you'll understand. And everything will be fine in the end. Your mother has just been a real-" Hera glared at her. "Your mother just, well, didn't realize that you couldn't spend all your immortal life on Earth. She has been neglecting her duties as the goddess of nature, and it's getting bad. All of this pollution, the greenhouse effect, everything wrong with the environment could have been prevented had she acted responsibly. And she has been forcing you to do the same."  
  
Looking around the group, Kora saw that they had all listened to the speech without a hint of a smile crossing any of their faces. Either they were very good actors, or the crazy people were telling the truth.  
  
Either the very good actors had somehow enrolled in her school, gained her confidence, and then flown her to a palace on top of a mountain, expecting her to believe the impossible story that they told her...or they were telling the truth. And if they were telling the truth, then that meant that she was actually one of the figures she had studied from Greek mythology. And that meant...that it was too much to think about for one day.  
  
She abruptly turned and started to walk back to her room, pushing through the people who didn't get out of her way fast enough. Pausing at the door, she faced them and spoke.  
  
"I am not prepared to believe a word I've heard today. Let me just make it clear that my mother will not be sitting quietly at home waiting for me to come back. I'll bet that the police are already searching for me and as soon as they find me, I'm going to make sure that all of you go to jail for a long, long time." Kora stepped into her room and slammed the door.

* * *

A/N: Okay, I know some of you are scratching your heads, but I had to take the story off and repost it because everything got screwed up somehow. No new chapters yet, sorry. And please review!


	8. The Diary

Chapter Eight: The Diary

The telephone rang, jolting Demeter from her thoughts with a start. Who was it this time? Was it the high school, asking why Kora wasn't in class? Had the police gotten word of the kidnapping? Or was it Zeus himself, calling to find out when she would cave in to their demands? Her shaking hand reached over to the receiver and picked it up. "Hello?"

"Ms. Smith? Hi, this is Jenn Calhoun. Is Kora there?"

"Oh, no, I'm sorry. Kora is visiting her grandmother. I'm afraid I'm not sure when she'll be back. But I'll be sure to let her know you called. Okay, good-bye now." Demeter dropped the phone onto the table and flopped back onto the couch with a sigh.

After three weeks, it didn't look as if Zeus or any of the others were going to take the initiative. They knew she wasn't powerful enough to get Kore back with all of them watching for her. They probably thought she would come storming up to Olympos any day now, just to be sure that her daughter was safe.

But if they thought that, they had obviously forgotten who had given in first the last time Kore was taken. She had managed to bring Olympos to its knees within a few short months. And she had gotten the girl back. Everything would have been perfect, except...

She wouldn't think of that now. Soon enough, Kore would be safely out of their hands and back where she, her mother, could properly look after her.

She would send them a letter. This time they would be able to prevent the catastrophe, if they really cared as much about the humans as they claimed to.

Demeter smiled as she began to write. It was all up to them now.

* * *

A few hours later, a snake slithered into Olympos with a piece of folded paper between its jaws. No one saw it enter or leave, but the paper was found sitting on Zeus' throne when the immortals entered the courtroom for their daily meeting. There was absolute silence from the others as the King of the Gods read the message from Demeter out loud.

"'My fellow Immortals,

"'It seems you have forgotten just what I have the power to do. Perhaps you think I no longer have the will to destroy? You are wrong.

"'If my daughter is not returned to me within the week, I shall bring a famine down upon the Earth like nothing any of you have seen before. Do not forget how close the world was to destruction the first time my bastard of a brother stole Kore. I promise you, it shall be ten times worse. No one shall be exempt. Nothing shall grow; no one shall eat until she is back. All countries shall be infected with a famine like no other.

"'You have two choices: either send Kore back to me or effectively destroy the world. I will not allow myself or my child to bear the burden of immortality any longer. Once I have my daughter back, I demand that we be left alone with no interference from any of you.

"'Yours sincerely, Demi.' "

He let the paper fall to the floor as he sank back into his throne, cradling his head in his hands. "What are we going to do?"

* * *

In her room, Kora was going a little stir crazy. She had wrapped a long length of dark green silk around her shoulders and was running around her room, pretending she was the queen of spring, and that flowers would bloom wherever she walked. It had been a favorite game when she was a child, though her mother had never been too fond of it and would scold the girl when she saw.

"I am the Spring Queen! I am the Spring Queen!" she shouted, laughing gleefully. Suddenly she heard a "crunch" from beneath her feet. Bending down, she discovered it was a small bunch of lilacs. "Where did you come from?" she inquired of the flowers, which, naturally, did not answer. She shrugged and dismissed it as a side effect of being locked up in a room with no company for three weeks. It was a nice room, of course, with plenty of beautiful robes in the trunk by her bed, and there was always food, brought in by random people, but she missed being able to talk to someone who could speak to her as well.

The game didn't seem as fun anymore. Kora walked over to the full-length mirror and started speaking to her reflection – another activity she had devised to pass the long hours.

"Why, hello Kora, you're looking well today!" she exclaimed to herself, putting on a mock British accent. "I simply love what you've done with that green fabric! And your hair! Even though you haven't brushed it for days, it looks stunning!" She stared at the girl in the mirror for a moment before bursting into hysterical laughter. "Oh, god, I'll think I'll be ready for the padded room by the time I get out of here...might as well make the most of my insanity." And with that, she picked up the lilacs and returned to her 'queen of spring' dancing.

"I am the Spring Queen, tra-la-la-la-la!" Kora began to spin in circles, around and around the room, over and over again until she completely lost her balance and fell sideways into a large object that seemed to be chuckling. When she regained her sense of direction, she found herself staring at the very amused face of Hades.

She straightened, blinked a few times to reorient herself, and then turned an indignant glance on Hades, who was still trying hard not to crack up. "I don't see what's so funny. I'll have you know that there isn't much to do in this stupid room and I..." Looking down, she noticed that the floor was almost entirely covered in flowers of all varieties, many of which she couldn't name. "Why are flowers randomly springing up from my floor?" Kora inquired of Hades. "Do you know anything about this?"

"Actually, I do, but the last time I tried to tell you, you slapped me." He raised an eyebrow. "Are you ready to listen now?"

"Not if you're going to tell me that I'm a goddess. If you are, I think I'd rather talk to the mirror." She was starved for intelligent conversation, but didn't want to get into another inane discussion about her supposed 'immortality'.

He sighed. "I'm afraid that's what we have to discuss now. I'm going to leave some things here for you to read, and when you're done, you need to come outside and talk with the rest of us. Hopefully they will convince you of the truth of the matter. Whatever happens, you cannot remain here, dancing and talking to yourself anymore." He placed an old book on the table. "This was your diary almost 3,000 years ago. I believe you were about sixteen years old, at least, in mortal time, when you wrote it. It deals with what happened when I...when you came to live in the Underworld."

Hades pulled a piece of paper from inside the book. "We received this letter from your mother today."

"My mother? Demi? Really? She knows where I am? Then why hasn't she come to get me? Why-" He cut her off.

"Demeter has given us an ultimatum. She demands that you be returned to her within a week. She says that if you are not, she will destroy the world as we know it."

Kora stared at him in shock. Her mother wasn't capable of anything like that. This was impossible. She started to protest, but Hades held up a hand for silence.

"If your questions are not answered by the time you finish reading these things, we will tell you what else you wish to know. Please. Just read them, and try to keep an open mind." He turned and walked back out the door, closing it behind him.

She slowly walked over to the table and sat down on the comfortable wooden chair. It wouldn't hurt to humor them. Afterwards, she could go home.

The book was covered in dark purple cloth and embossed with gold. The designs were of flowers entwined with pomegranates. She opened it and gasped at the handwriting on the first page, for it was almost exactly like her own, only fancier.

Kora picked up the book and began to read. Midway through the diary, she started to feel hungry, and noticed a small bowl of pomegranate seeds next to her on the table. She continued to nibble on them while she finished the book and moved onto the letter.

Almost two hours later, the courtroom door opened and everyone inside turned an expectant face to the figure that entered. She was dressed in a black peplos with a silver girdle and jewelry. On her head sat a silver crown wrought with amethyst stones. The shaken girl turned to the crowd that waited for her reaction to her own story.

"I am ready to listen."

* * *

A/N: Dramatic enough for you?

The snake carried Demeter's note because snakes are one of her sacred animals (as well as pigs, but I didn't like the idea of a pig trotting into Olympos).

I estimated the time that Kore-Persephone would have been a young goddess because I'm really not good with ancient times, so don't flame me if it's not historically accurate.

And, in case you hadn't noticed, the story has been reposted and I lost all my reviews, which is depressing. So if you want to make me write faster, leave a review and tell me what you like or don't like!

-Sephie


	9. Mnemosyne

Chapter Nine: Mnemosyne

She wasn't sure what to believe anymore.

The diary, the note…the story too fantastic to be made up…or what she had lived for years…

She couldn't think straight. Waves of memories kept trying to get her to focus on them, and she tried, but they disappeared as she frantically struggled against the walls in her mind.

She fell to the ground, clutching her head, vaguely aware of some shouted concerns from around her but only just able to grasp at some of the thoughts.

_the field…flowers...the voice calling to her…darkness dark abyss no light no warmth except…_

_fruit sour in her mouth the light comes back she can't see she's blind but only for a moment and the sun is so bright so harsh she's crying but she can't go back…_

_the seeds that tortured her for so long burning in her head making her hate the light she used to love now she craves only the darkness…_

_finally finally the dark is back but others are calling to her she mustn't turn back the seeds won't let her and she's there he's there she can't breathe with joy…_

_her mother's furious shouts against the marble walls so loud but too late the seeds had done their work and she can stay in the darkness…_

And suddenly it's gone, the shouting, the frightening pictures that she only half understands.

It's dark…

* * *

Kore sat up straight on the couch, dripping with sweat and her eyes wide open. 'It's dark…' she thought, then waited while her eye sight adjusted to the absence of light.

There were lights, yes, but only some candles and what looked to be a sort of oil lamp on the table next to the couch. The room was huge, with cavernous ceilings that made her wonder if it had been built in a cave. The walls and floor were black marble veined with silver, and a window was set in the wall opposite her. She rose, drawn to it, hoping to find some light…

But there was none. More blackness broken only by an eerie white glow some distance off. Kore looked down and saw…grass? No, it was too pale to be grass, but it was green.

Suddenly she noticed human-shaped figures wandering around the cavern – for, now that she looked at the outside, she realized it truly must be a cave. They moved without purpose, floating in different directions, their color the same ghostly pale as the light in the distance. With a sudden horrifying realization, the blood drained from her face as she backed away from the window.

They _were_ ghosts.

Kore turned around, intending to find a way out of the room and ran smack into Hades.

" 'Morning, Persephone!" He said cheerfully. Too cheerfully. Kore was extremely tempted to whack that smile off his face.

"Where am I?" Kore demanded slowly, putting a force on each word. This would be the second time she had been kidnapped in about as many days, and she was not in the mood to take it kindly.

A worried expression appeared on his face. "You don't recognize it? It doesn't seem at all familiar? You spent nearly half your life here." Kore blinked at him. And they said she was crazy.

"I think I'd know where I've spent nearly half of my life, thank you very much! Now what is this place and why am I here!" The statement was a demand, not a question. Hades sighed inwardly. This was the Persephone he remembered, the one who could force anyone to their knees with her kindness or her temper.

"Persephone. This is the Underworld. Don't you remember it? The pomegranate, Ascalaphus, your mother going more than partly insane?" Hades furrowed his brow at the young goddess's blank expression. "Persephone, you lived here half of every year! How can you not remember it?"

"Because it didn't happen!!!"

"Didn't you read the diary?

"Yes, I read it, and yes, it does look like it was written in my handwriting, but that doesn't mean I have to believe it!!" She threw wild glances around the room, upset nearly to tears. "It's not fair! I don't _want_ to be a goddess! I want to go home and forget this ever happened! Please…can't you all just leave me alone?" Kore looked up at Hades imploringly, then stumbled back a step. "No…no….get out of my head…"

"Persephone? What's wrong?"

"…I can't listen anymore…mother…please get out…" She grabbed her head, eyes squinched shut. "Please…" The girl collapsed and would have hit the stone floor had Hades not rushed to catch her at the last minute. Her head lolled to the side and she lay limp in his arms, clearly unconscious. He gently placed her on the couch, and then ran to the throne room to get Mnemosyne.

* * *

"Kore…Kore, can you hear me?"

She was tired and didn't want to answer the voice, but it continued speaking to her in its gentle, ageless tone.

"Kore, I know you don't wish to listen, but please try to hear me out. You need to drink this and then you can go back to sleep." A cup was held to the goddess' lips and she drank, wincing at the bitter taste. A few moments later, her neck and face relaxed as she fell into a blessedly dreamless sleep.

Mnemosyne sighed, brushing her long white hair away from her eyes as she turned back to Hades. "It's not good," was her bleak pronouncement. "Obviously Demeter still has a relatively strong grasp over Kore's mind. When she tries to remember anything that happened before she began living as a mortal, the lies implanted by her mother block them out. Any further struggling results in unconsciousness.

"Furthermore, Demeter seems to have devoted more power towards erasing Kore's memory of the Underworld – or anything else to do with you. You saw on Olympos how she was nearly able to remember her old room and what she wrote in the diary. But after eating the pomegranate seeds and putting on the crown…" Mnemosyne trailed off, still staring helplessly at the girl. "I have to admit I'm not certain what to do."

"Mnemosyne," Hades whispered, his voice filled with dread, "you know what will happen if she is not restored to her place on Olympos. You know we cannot allow the mortals to die because of Demeter's selfishness. Persephone must regain her memories. If you can't help her…"

She cut him off. "I'm not stupid, Hades, I know what will happen. And I didn't say that I couldn't help her. I'm just not sure if…if you will agree with what I can do.

"Demeter's block against the Underworld is strong. She has placed into it all of her hatred of you, and you know how much she loathed you. She believes you kidnapped her daughter, and I'm not saying she's right, but, true or not, that has lent the block extraordinary power.

"I think that Kore could regain some of her memory with time, and with my help, but I doubt that she will ever recall the…incident with you and the Underworld. In all likelihood, she will live forever the way she was as a child and never remember that she was married to you and ruled as Queen of the Underworld."

Hades walked out of the room, his mask of stoic ness defeated by his stride and the cracks that appeared on the walls as he marched past them. Mnemosyne did not go after him, knowing that there was nothing she could say that would be a comfort. She knew as well as he that Zeus would allow no further interference. Kore would be returned as the Goddess of spring, the world would be saved, and perhaps Demeter could even be convinced to rejoin the pantheon if Hades were out of the way.

While Kore would most likely be happy, Hades would be returned to a life of boredom and solitude. No longer would he be welcome on Olympos or Earth, for fear of angering Demeter again. He would be once again shunned as an outcast, however immortal, and be forced to remain forever in his gloomy kingdom

There was a chance that….but Mnemosyne dared not speak of it. How cruel it would be to raise his hopes in vain only to have them dashed against the tapestry of the Fates at the last minute. "But," she murmured, half speaking to herself and half to the comatose goddess, "the Sisters do weave that cloth strangely sometimes. Perhaps it shall come to be."

* * *

A/N: No, I'm not dead, only incapacitated temporarily by some cruel electron configurations. And did everyone figure out already that I'm a bit of a procrastinator?

Sokorra Lewis: Glad you like it! Persephone got the cloth from the clothes chest in her room. And I've never thought of Hades as much older than her, even though he probably was, but…yeah.

Eponine: It's _intéressant_. I still don't think "klaun benchet" means anything.

2 lazy: It would be splendiferous to get more reviews. Perhaps my lovely readers could help me with that? I'm happy you love the story!

Jessie: It's a very long explanation. It is my belief that the immortals don't age after they've grown to a certain point, and so Kore will look about 16-18 for the rest of her life. Therefore, she couldn't very well live like a normal human for 50 years, so Demeter moves them around to different high schools every few years.

ThreeMarauders: It makes me happy when people write such nice reviews. And Persephone is glad that she's one of your favorite goddesses. 

Artemis: Well, the chapter is finally written. Now where's that diary entry you owe me? See you soon!

EvilFairy42: Thank you! Keep reading and I'll keep writing!

iloveroswells: Hope you like this chapter!

To everyone who reads this story: Have a great holiday season and a happy new year! But reviewers get points towards ending up in Elysium, so review!!!!!


	10. Unhappy Demeter

Chapter Ten: Unhappy Demeter

'_Kora, baby, come back. Come back…' The words repeated over and over in her head as she tumbled from dream to dream. _

_Here she saw a young girl with flowing blonde hair dancing beautifully over a field of flowers as the sun rose over the hill, then was staring up at a vast ceiling that seemed to draw out on for forever. Faces, angelic and beautiful surrounded her, smiling benevolently. _

_Then the faces disappeared, to be replaced by a single face, staring her straight in the eyes with deep set black eyes that seemed to stretch onto oblivion. The face was the most handsome she had ever seen, and she felt she could spend weeks, no, months just staring at him. _

_Then he was gone, and there was her mother, who she shrank back from for some strange reason. Kora's dream self was confused. Why did she turn from her mother, her bright, kind, wonderful mother who had sheltered her from all the evils of the world? _

_But they're not evil! Hades and the other gods, they're not evil! Why can't you see that-_

Persephone awoke with a start. The fatigue that had been eating at her since she had read the diary had been replaced by complete alertness. "Hades? Mnemosyne? Hera? Anyone?" She sat up on the couch, then took a step forward, her bare feet making no sound on the black marble floor.

Demeter stared out through Kora's eyes. There must be something wrong with her powers…Kora couldn't be where she was seeing. Zeus wouldn't be so foolish as to let Hades take her there…

Persephone shook her head, trying to clear away the dots that were threatening to take over her vision. Her alertness of moments before was gone, and she was starting to feel sick. She must still not be recovered from her fainting spell last night…

Demeter decided that she must have planted her mind in the wrong person. She commanded the mind to find a mirror and look into it. It resisted. Obviously not Kora, then, she thought in relief. Kora didn't have the power to resist the mind control. She strengthened her force and ordered it once more.

This time the body obeyed, although it moved jerkily, and found the mirror. Demeter stared in abject horror at what she saw. The face of her daughter stared back at her, her eyes frightened and close to tears, her hair messy, and dark circles under her eyes.

It was the first she had seen of Kora in almost a month, and it was in the worst possible place. Why had Zeus allowed Hades to bring her to the Underworld? He couldn't have. After all, Kora was his daughter to, and he knew that she had been kidnapped by Hades!

The door opened and Persephone spun around to see Hades and Mnemosyne staring at her. She hadn't meant to walk to the mirror. Her mother had ordered her to…

"Persephone, are you all right?" Hades had rushed to her side, but something was wrong. She was staring through him, shaking her head in disbelief at something. He grabbed her face, turning it to look at his own. "Speak to me!"

"Hades, don't do that!" Mnemosyne suddenly shouted, realizing why the goddess was acting strangely.

Persephone's mouth opened, but it wasn't her voice that emerged. The girl's eyes widened in shock as her mother's voice screamed, "KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF MY DAUGHTER!!!" She wrenched herself away from him and ran to the door.

"Oh dear gods, Demeter's in her mind!"

Hades blinked. "What?"

"It's not Persephone, it's Demeter! She's taken over her mind. You shouldn't have touched her."

"_What_?!"

Mnemosyne sighed exasperatedly. "Demeter. She's very powerful. She's gotten into her daughter's mind and now Persephone doesn't have any control over what she's doing. This is potentially very dangerous."

He snorted. "Mnemosyne, there is nothing that can hurt me in my own kingdom, and Demeter isn't possessing her daughter's mind." He marched over to the frightened looking Persephone and took her hand, patting it reassuringly. "Don't worry, dear, Mnemosyne's a little confused. There isn't anyone in your mind. You-"

His voice stopped as Persephone's hand shot out and pushed him away from her. A vine suddenly appeared and wrapped itself around his throat. Demeter's voice once again issued through the room, not screaming this time, but icy cold and dripping with fury. "If you ever dare to touch my daughter again, I will have you hung by a thorny vine from the top of Olympos and personally castrate you. Do I make myself clear?"

He nodded, unable to speak as the vine squeezed tighter. Mnemosyne stood by helplessly, knowing anything she did to interfere would probably make the situation worse.

"I am coming to Olympos right now. My daughter had better be there when I arrive, as well as Zeus, Eos, Hermes, and any of the others who participated in this conspiracy. I am going to settle this thing once and for all." With that, the vine disappeared and Persephone slumped against the wall, looking completely betrayed and close to tears. Wanting to comfort her, but mindful of Demeter's threat, he took a tentative step towards her, and she threw herself at him, breaking into sobs upon his shoulder. Hades comforted her as she wept out the pain of her memories and her mother's hatred.

"Hades." Mnemosyne was hesitant to interrupt the moment, but she knew that they had to be at Olympos before Demeter. "We have to go." He nodded and Persephone wiped the last few tears from her eyes.

"So how do we get there?" She may have realized that her mother had taken over her mind, but when she searched for some memory of being a goddess, her mind felt wiped clean. All of her memories started at her first day at high school.

Persephone knew that there should be other memories, of her first day of school, of her junior high graduation, but there was just- well, void. Nothingness.

He took her hand. "Close your eyes." When she had done so, he closed his own and manifested them to Olympos, to where they would bargain for the fate of the world.

* * *

A/N: Yup, another chapter. I feel so special...

Finally Persephone starts to realize that Hades is really very nice!

Thank you all for the reviews, they were very encouraging! Please continue reading and dropping me a line or two.

-Sephie


	11. The Choice

A/N: I would just like to send ten bajillion cookies to EvilFairy42, who sent me some great ideas for the story. They have re-sparked my imagination when it was really, well, dead. Thank you so much!

* * *

Chapter Eleven: The Choice

Everyone on Olympos was confused, and for good reason. A goddess that no one had seen for half a century was suddenly among them, ranting for her daughter, and looking, well, rather more disheveled then they had remembered her. The confusion did not end when said daughter appeared and began to yell at her mother.

"WHAT WAS THAT DOWN THERE!" she shrieked, although she had a pretty good idea that she had been possessed by Demeter.

Demeter had calmed down considerably after seeing her daughter was truly unharmed. "Nothing, dear. I was just checking to make sure you were safe." She smiled, holding Kore at arm's length to look at her. "Oh, I'm so happy you're all right. Now everything's back to normal and we can go home," she finished, closing her hand firmly around her daughter's wrist. "Goodbye, everyone!"

"Mom, I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but have you gone absolutely crazy? Everything is _not_ back to normal and we _can't_ go home until it is, and probably not even then because I'm not even sure where home _is_ anymore!" Kore blinked back tears, pulling away from her mother's grasp. "You lied to me. A lot."

"No, no, not lied. Well, maybe lied a little, but it was for your own good! Kora, darling, please believe me. I never wanted anything more than a perfect life for you. The life that was denied to _me_. I tried to protect you from the whims of the rest of them" – here she shot a dagger-filled glance in the direction of Zeus and Hades – "but they wouldn't allow it. So I did the only thing I could." Demeter gazed at Kore pleadingly. "Please believe me and come back home. You can forget all of this and live forever like a normal, happy mortal."

But Kore couldn't listen to her anymore. She ran sobbing through the halls, a distant memory somehow guiding her feet through now unfamiliar corridors, until she ended up at her room. Flinging open the door, she threw herself on the couch and cried until it felt like there were no more tears left in her body and that her heart had been put through a wringer.

* * *

The rest of the Olympians eyed Demeter warily as she stood stock-still for a full minute. Would she run after her daughter and forcibly drag her back to the mortal world? Would she cast the famine she had been threatening down to Earth? After another minute of wondering, Hermes put to words the question they had all been thinking.

"Hey, is she still breathing?"

Demeter turned slowly and locked her eyes on the speaker, who squeaked and decided it was time to leave. Before he had a chance to escape and before Demeter had a chance to wreak whatever havoc she was planning, Zeus took charge.

"All right, everyone out except Demeter, Hades, Hekate, and Mnemosyne. We are going to have an adult discussion about this and resolve the issue once and for all." The crowd reluctantly cleared the room, leaving the five in an uneasy silence. Demeter spoke first.

"I knew that you would turn her against me. It's just what you did the first time. _This_ is why I don't trust any of you – you steal my only child and make her think that _I'm_ the crazy one! Well, I've had enough of it! After my final work on Earth, no one will be left alive and Kora and I will finally be able to live in peace!"

"Oh, would you just call her Persephone already!" Hades exploded. Demeter narrowed her eyes dangerously.

"_If_ I choose to call _my own daughter_ something besides Kora, it will be _Kore_, the name that _I_ gave to her when she was born! _Not_ that fancy, demonic, Underworld thing that _you_ forced upon her." She turned back to Zeus. "Now, if you will excuse me, I have some things to do back on Earth. I'll return for _Kore_ when I'm through – and you had better keep _him_ away from her while I'm g-"

Zeus hastily interrupted her. "There's no need to be doing anything drastic yet, is there? I mean, we can work this out. Clearly, the original arrangement wasn't working for you, you didn't want your daughter stuck underground half the year, and that's, well, understandable. But it's been thousands of years! She's probably used to it by now."

"Not after what Demeter did to her memory," muttered Hades. "And you seem to be forgetting that she wasn't 'stuck' down there. She was fulfilling a promise that she made by the river Styx when she ate the pomegranate, a promise, I might add, made _willfully_, in full knowledge of what she was doing."

"That is of little importance now," spoke Hekate. "The pomegranate did not bind her to the Underworld for all eternity. By now it has long since expired."

"Well, then!" said Zeus, sounding relieved. "It looks like everything is settled. Kore can stay on Olympos! Would you be happy with that, Demeter?"

"I…I suppose that would present no objections. As long as she has no more contact with Hades and he doesn't try to kidnap her again." Demeter looked surprised that it had worked out so easily.

"Ah, good! Mnemosyne, what about the girl's memory? Demeter has already altered it enough that it should be simple to erase all other thoughts of her life in the Underworld, right?"

Mnemosyne glanced at Hades, who was staring in utter disbelief at what they were planning. "Um, yes, quite simple. But I'm not sure that we should just decide Kore's future like this…"

"Well, it's not like she'll remember it, so there's no reason not to," Zeus explained. "Everything will be back to normal – well, normal three thousand years ago. And the most important thing: the mortals will all still be alive."

"Hello!" Hades practically screamed. "What about me? You seem to be forgetting that Persephone is my _wife_ and queen. Even if she's not physically bound to our land by the pomegranate, we're still _married_. And furthermore, I don't think it's fair for us to choose how she'll live for the rest of eternity without even a word to her."

"I see absolutely no loss for her with this plan," Demeter snapped at him. "If anything, she'll gain from forgetting her memories of what you did to her."

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING TO HER, YOU CRAZY LADY!"

"Hades! Please keep your voice down! We don't need to alert the entire mountain as to what we've decided," Zeus admonished.

"Him shouting won't matter," remarked Hekate, "half the Pantheon have their ears to the door anyway."

"That…that's not the point. We can settle this without reducing ourselves to shouting and name-calling." Hades and Demeter were still looking ready to throttle each other, so he stepped between them. "I think I can see where Hades is coming from. Although Kore would not remember anything, and therefore wouldn't miss it, if we did this, she is an adult goddess. It wouldn't be right, I guess, to do this without telling her. So here's what we'll do.

"Someone – and not Demeter or Hades – will inform Kore of everything that's going on. They will not try to persuade her one way or the other. She will have two weeks to live on Olympos with her mother and two weeks to live in the Underworld with Hades. Don't worry," he added, when Demeter immediately began to object, "we will have someone there to make sure that no harm comes to her."

Hades fumed. "Are you ever going to believe that no kidnapping or rape ever happened?" They stared at him, their faces clearly stating, "No." "Fine. Just continue the plan."

Zeus did. "After the month has passed, Kore will be allowed to choose – life as it was when she lived half in the Underworld and half on Earth, or life up here forever. If she wants to stay with Hades, Demeter will accept it and _won't_ bring the fatal famine down upon the Earth." Seeing that Hades was about to question how honest Demeter would be about that, he quickly said, "She will swear on Styx that there will be no famine. Right, Demeter?"

"Fine," she grudgingly accepted. "But if she chooses to stay with me where she belongs, then Hades is to have _no_ contact with her ever again. And he will swear to that as well."

"Well, Hades?" asked Zeus. "Do you agree to the terms? If you don't, I'm afraid we have no choice but to simply clear her memory."

Hades was stuck. He knew that two weeks wasn't a very long time to convince her to stay with him, especially after two weeks of Demeter's brainwashing. "Wait, Demeter won't be allowed to take any more of Persephone's memories while she's with her, right?"

"No, that won't happen," Zeus agreed, with a glance at Demeter, who nodded as well."

Then there was really no choice. He couldn't risk losing her forever."

"I accept."


	12. Hekate

Chapter Twelve: Hekate

Right now, Kore was seriously considering climbing over her balcony and trying to find a way down the mountain. A quick escape was looking better that sticking around and dealing with an alternate reality. She went over to the chest of clothes and picked out what looked to be the sturdiest piece of fabric: a rough, black cloth. On it she placed the fruit and bread that was lying on her table, a pair of sandals, and a cloak. She knotted the cloth into a portable package and tied the other sandals she had been given onto her feet.

Before heading out the door, Kore gave herself a once-over in the mirror. There wasn't much to be done about what she was wearing. The only clothes that were in her room were the long flowing dresses that belonged in ancient Greece. This actually made sense if Hades and Zeus and all the others were telling the truth.

She turned around and headed for the balcony door, very nervous. She had never run away before, least of all in a foreign country and in clothes that went out of style thousands of years ago. But it had to be done.

As Kore began to leave, she was stopped by the sound of voices in the next room.

"Demeter's crazy! She knows she can just warp my wife's mind and Persephone will believe what she wants her to. She agreed because she knows I don't have a chance. That woman is pure insanity!" Hades' voice came to her, almost unrecognizable with the content of rage that filled it.

" 'That woman' cares a lot for her daughter. She's doing what she thinks is right," announced a calm, vaguely familiar voice. "I know that you don't agree, but it's what Demeter thinks is right."

"You too!" Hades shouted to the other. "I thought you were on my side, Hekate!"

Hekate. Kore nodded softly, realizing that the name matched the voice, although she wasn't sure how she knew that. The whole conversation was confusing her. She was beginning to wonder what exactly had happened in the courtroom after she left. She was also starting to get annoyed that everyone seemed to be deciding her future without her.

"I am not on anyone's side." Hekate insisted. "I'm just telling you that Demeter will not let this go lightly. She will fight with every element and weapon on her side to see you obliterated from her daughter's mind."

For a time neither spoke. "Perfect. Remind me again that I might as well admit defeat." The god's voicewas weary, and very different from how he hadspoken earlier.

"Will you? Will you give up?" Hekate questioned, her tone perfectly neutral.

"Oh, gods, imagine the Underworld if he gave up." This was a new voice, possessing a kind of soporific quality. Kore thought back to her books of Greek mythology and thought it could either be Hypnos, God of sleep, or Morpheus, God of dreams.

"What's that supposed to mean?" growled Hades, who didn't seem to be having a very good day.

"Nothing, nothing, just that you were completely unbearable even when you _knew_ she was coming back in six months," the same voice spoke. Kore stifled a yawn, figuring it was probably Hypnos. A brief silence passed and she imagined Hades' piercing glare directed at the impudent god.

There was a sigh, and then, "No. I've got to try. I'll head down to the Underworld right away. Everything must be perfect for her. She has to remember."

This had gone on long enough. They were speaking as if she didn't have a choice in what was going to happen! Never one to remain silent in the face of something she didn't like, and not quite thinking her impulse all the way through, Kore shouted at the wall, "And what if I don't want to remember!"

Silence. Then, "Persephone, have you been listening to this entire conversation?"

The girl pressed a hand to her mouth, eyes wide with embarrassment. 'Say nothing!' she thought to herself. 'Maybe they'll think it was the wind or something'. From what she had remembered about the myths, gods had very short tempers and would take them out on mortals by changing them into…things. Waking up as a capybara or something did not really appeal to Kore.

"Persephone," Hekate's calm and realistic voice repeated. She sounded eerily like a psychiatrist. "Persephone, I want an answer."

Kore's blue eyes frantically searched the air for a solution. "Uh…I plead the fifth?"

There was a pause. "Persephone. Mortal laws have no place here. The gods do not appreciate it when people withhold information." Standing next to Hekate, Hades scowled. She was certainly doing her best to frighten Persephone, and, from the nervous voice that the girl kept using, it seemed that it was working.

"Persephone," the therapist voice repeated. A few moments passed with Kore not daring to make a response, and then, "I'm coming over. I'll explain everything to you."

"Oh, crap!" she cried, suddenly realizing where she knew the voice, where she knew Hekate, from. Hekate was the woman from her dreams – and a very powerful deity. She had two choices – grab her bag and try to escape off the balcony – a long way down – or she could stay and face a goddess who sounded like she wasn't very happy at the moment. She had half decided to take her chances with the balcony when Hekate walked into her room. Kore stared at the door.

"I thought I locked that…"

"You did. Locks mean little to me."

Kore sank down on the bed. "That's good to know, I guess." She couldn't think of anything else to say. In the presence of this intimidating woman, she felt like a child about to be punished for some minor indiscretion – although she wasn't sure what exactly she had done wrong.

Hekate looked at her with pity in her deep black eyes. "You know, all of this is only because they both love you so much. That's what it all stemmed from in the first place. Hades fell in love with you and took you to the Underworld, and I think you grew to like it there. You said you loved him. But your mother couldn't bear to let you go. She never really did, not even after you two were legally married on Olympos."

"I still don't know if I want to believe this," Kore muttered.

"You have to."

The girl sighed in exasperation. "Why? What's the big deal? Okay, maybe I'm a goddess. Say I choose to accept that. Does that mean I really have to live here and give up my normal life?"

"First of all, _this_ is your normal life, not whatever you were living as a mortal. Right now, you thinkthat the mortal lifewas better, because there is so much to be resolved. You will learn, though, that there are many perks to being a goddess." Hekate paused. "The downside is that, in exchange for all the benefits, for all your new abilities and your power, you must help the mortals. To do that, you must live and work here and in the Underworld.

"That is the price we pay. We are gifted beings. We could let the humans fend for themselves, but we _did_ create them and we feel responsible for them. And besides, it can get boring being immortal. They keep us amused."

Kore picked at a loose thread on the bedding. "That doesn't seem that bad. It makes sense, kind of." There was one thing that she still didn't understand. "Hekate, why did my mother lie to me for all those years? Why did she bring me away from here and make me think I was a mortal if I wasn't?"

"It's a sad story. Demeter…she was never quite the same after you left for the Underworld. While you were on Earth, with her, she was normal and happy, but as soon as winter came, she would regress. She was depressed; she wouldn't eat or let the crops grow. Many times the mortals came close to starvation, and would have died out if others hadn't intervened. That was always strange, because we do have boundaries – we almost never interfere in another immortal's line of work.

"Each year, your mother seemed to get worse. She had her whole life invested in you, andshe couldn't come to terms with the idea that her daughter could be happy in a place where nothing grew. She despised Hades with every inch of her being and clung to the illusion that you were forced to live down there. For the longest time, you tried to hide the truth from her – you would never show Hades any affection in her presence. You worried about her, and you hadn't even seen what she was like when you were gone.

"About fifty years ago, you and Hades decided to try to have a child. You had never done so before because of Demeter, afraid of what her reaction would be. When you finally told her, she…well, she snapped. That was when she announced to Olympos that she was leaving. We all thought she was just going away for a bit, a much-needed vacation.

"The next morning, she was gone and she had taken you with her. No one could find you two for years. We still don't know exactly how she hid you, though it probably has something to do with blocking your memory. You didn't know you were a goddess, so you looked and acted like a mortal. We finally found you, though, and that's when all this started."

The air seemed heavier in the room when Hekate had finished, and Kore felt as though an enormous pressure was weighing down on her. It was her fault, then, that her mother was so disturbed. Her fault and Hades' fault. "Everyone must really despise me for all the trouble I've put them through…" Her voice came out small and shaky.

"Kore, you know that's not true. We're all family up here and we help each other. They've already come up with a plan for you."

She brightened. "Really? Does it involve me going back to Earth? Because I'm ready to leave _now_…" Kore picked up her bag and made for the door.

"Sorry. Not even a little bit."

"Oh." She sat back down. "You might as well just get on with it then."

Rolling her eyes, Hekate continued. "Zeus and Demeter at first wanted just to erase all your memories of the Underworld and your mortal life. This is possible, because Demeter has been poisoning those thoughts with her hatred. Hades disagreed with them, obviously, so they changed the plan, but I wanted to ask you because it would probably be simpler: Do you wish to forget all of your life as Queen of the Underworld?"

Kore glanced at the wall that she now knew separated her room from Hades'. "That doesn't really seem fair to him. I mean, why should my mother automatically have claim on me? According to you, and to my old diary, I loved Hades just as much as I loved her." She shook her head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

Hekate smiled. "Spoken like a true and just goddess." She cleared her throat. "Alright, moving on to the plan. They finally decided that you should have a choice in what will happen to you. You will spend two weeks here, with your mother, and then two weeks in the Underworld, with Hades. This will give you a vague idea of which life you would prefer. At the end of the month you will choose." She held up a finger. "One: Stay on Olympos with your mother. She has stipulated that you will be allowed no contact with Hades if you choose this option.

"Or two: go back to the system that worked before, where you divided your time between the Underworld and Olympos. Winters with Hades, summers with Demeter. You will probably not be able to visit the other person out of season." She looked expectantly at Kore. "So? Does it sound workable?"

"Um…yes, I guess so."

"Good. Hades will be returning to the Underworld tonight. You will not see him for two weeks. I will inform the other immortals that you have decided to work with them." Hekate turned to leave, then stopped. "One more thing."

"Yes?"

"I am glad you didn't choose the memory-wipe for the easy way out." She glanced at the wall and raised her voice for her next sentence. "And I'm sure that Hades was glad of your decision too, weren't you, Hades?"

Kore heard a muffled curse from the other room and sighed. "He was listening the whole time, wasn't he?"

"Undoubtedly." With a small smile on her face, Hekate left the room.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, I'm just as surprised about the update as you probably are. I kind of thought the story was dead… 

**Zagato:** You're welcome for the update, and thanks for the review!

**EvilFairy42:** I am also glad you helped out on the story. Merci beaucoup!

**Artemis: **Yeah, yeah. New chapter. Keep up your own writing!

**Melcarisa:** I'm glad you like it so much!

**Truelove and Truelove:** I've always identified with Persephone, but I don't like the idea that she was a helpless victim. I'm glad that this story can bring a different persona to her character. As for Demeter, I know she may seem a bit cruel, but I hope this chapter explained the reasons behind that a little better.

**Le Grimoire:** Thanks for reviewing!


	13. Menthe

Chapter Thirteen: Menthe

_From the diary of Kore-Persephone_:

'_The day has dragged on forever!!! I simply cannot believe how many things there are to be done in preparation for my coming-of-age party. Mother and I spent all day on Olympos, picking and choosing over endless swatches of fabric. I don't honestly _care_ about which draperies shall be decorating the ceiling, so I just let her choose. She's having much more fun than I am with all these goings-on. I think the final color scheme is teal and white. Not my favorite, but she thinks violet is too rich for a young girl. (I'M NOT THAT YOUNG!!!)_

'_After the endless miles of cloth were paraded out before us, we went into the kitchens to finalize the menu. My only request was that there be plenty of fruit and vegetables, not so many rich meat dishes that the rest of my family is so fond of. Besides, there will be other deities coming as well, from far- off lands, and not all of them eat meat. I think. _

'_You must be finding this very boring, as I am myself as I read over it. But the sad fact is, this is ALL THERE IS OF my life. Trivial. _Boring_. I'm getting tired of it and I can only hope that when I FINALLY come of age my mother will give me something more to do. Flowers can only hold your attention for so long, you know. Demeter is, of course, crazy about them. "The Lady Demeter, Goddess of Growing Things" Iris announces her when she steps into the throne room. Do you know what she says when _I_ enter, a step behind Mother as always? "The Young Lady Kore, Daughter of Demeter." Apparently I do not even merit a title in my own right. YET!!! Just two more weeks and I turn sixteen and will be considered an adult Goddess! Olympos has to recognize me then!'_

…………

'_She just…she doesn't seem to understand. My mother. She would see nothing wrong with me staying a young girl forever. And I can't understand that. _

She _married, however briefly. She can't be sorry for that, because I am the product of that union, and she dotes upon me. Still, I don't believe she wishes the same for me and I am upset by it. Certainly, it was a bit of a mistake to get mixed up with Zeus when he was already married to Hera. (You see, I am not as innocent as she would like me to be!!!) But it was her mistake to make. She would take that away from me. She would keep me a maiden, a KORE forever. SHE NAMED ME THAT!!!_

_It is not FITTING!!! I need a new name, one that does not proclaim my virginal purity to the world (however virgin I may be.) What will happen when I marry? _I _have no doubt that I will someday find love, just as she wished to do when _she_ was my age. What happens then?_

_Mother, you should have prepared for this possibility!!!_

…………

_HOW CAN THIS BE POSSIBLE? _

_I AM TO REMAIN YOUNG FOREVER?!?!?!?!_

_And no one thought to tell me…_

…………

"I wrote this?" Kore asked quietly of the silent, withdrawn room surrounding her. "Did I really write this?"

Her words echoed in the empty space, vague yet strong reminders of her solitude.

But no.

Solitude would have been _fathoms_ better than her current situation.

"Kora!" A cheerful voice, unfortunately recognizable as that of Demeter called from outside, a shrill banshee wail foreshadowing the eons of boredom and mindless torture to come.

Triumphant, the figure of the goddess pushed through the flowing blue and ivory curtains at the entrance to the room, green eyes as loving and motherly as they had been when Kore was a child. 'Perhaps,' the girl thought bitterly, 'nothing has changed. I am still a child to her, as I was then, as I was on Earth, as I am now.'

"Kora, my darling!" the goddess exclaimed, enveloping her daughter in a suffocating embrace. "I thought they wouldn't let me see you again!"

Kore coughed, shying away from hug, ducking under her mother's arms. 'That would be _horrid_,' she thought. 'Just _horrid_. And yet, undeniably wonderful.' "Hi, Mom," she managed. "How've you been?"

Demeter didn't seem to hear. She fussed with her daughter's hair, half-braiding it, and continued speaking. "I have just the most _wonderful_ activities planned for the next two weeks – all the things you used to love to do before…well, you know! You'll no doubt remember some of your old friends! Come on, now! We mustn't be late!" Without further ado, Kore found herself being hustled out of her room, through the twisting corridors of the mountain (she had to remember to go exploring sometime) and finally out onto a grassy field that looked pretty enough. Demeter looked at her expectantly, but she could do little but stand awkwardly and wonder what the hell they were going to do.

All of a sudden there came a shriek of voices that made her wince and a large group of girls about her age came running straight for her. Kore let out an involuntary squeak as she found herself being suffocated by an unwelcome embrace for the second time in the past five minutes.

"Hi…" she eked out, and that was apparently all the feedback the group needed to fly into a frenzy of chatter and giggles that made absolutely no sense to her. Waving good-bye to her mother, they dragged her across the meadow to a large patch of flowers and plopped her down in the middle, forming a circle around her. Confused, she glanced around, wondering if this was some sort of ancient Greek game, but the only thing the girls were doing was talking.

"Did you see the way Hermes looks at you, Kore? He's soooooo handsome! I bet he wants to court you!" giggled a nymph (she supposed that was what they were) with curly blonde hair.

"Oh, do you think you'll be married?" gasped another, this one with darker coloring. "That would be sooooo wonderful! It's been ages since we've had a good Olympian wedding!"

They all turned to stare at Kore, who was confused. "Um…I don't think my mom's all that into my getting married right now…and besides, I'm only sixteen, and Hal – I mean Hermes – is kind of a jerk."

The nymphs stared blankly for another minute and then the first one interjected again, "But he's sooooooo handsome!" And the entire group dissolved into giggles again.

Kore sighed and closed her eyes. It was going to be a long afternoon.

* * *

And it was. After discussing the nonexistent relationship between Kore and Hermes for what felt like an hour, the nymphs had gotten down to what was apparently the scheduled activity: picking flowers and weaving them into chains. She had little choice but to join them – after all, the deal was that she experience both sides of her past life and then choose which one she liked best. Both sides of her past life SHOULD fit her like a glove. She kept telling herself this.

But it was so, so boring.

As they walked back to Olympos, wearing chain upon chain of flowers and carrying all those that they couldn't find a place for, a nymph fell in step with Kore. She had been examining her fingernails, wondering if she ever would be able to get the green stains out, when she heard the quiet whisper.

"It's pretty mind-numbing, isn't it?"

Kore turned in surprise that one of the nymphs held the same opinion that she did. The one who had spoken had dark brown hair and huge green eyes set in a pale face. She smiled wryly and continued. "There's not much else these girls can do. They've been gossiping and picking flowers for thousands of years and they certainly don't intend to stop anytime soon. I'm sorry. It's going to be a dull few weeks."

"Are you serious?" Kore exclaimed. "I can't imagine spending another_ day_ doing this, let alone two weeks! Don't they do anything else?"

The nymph thought for a moment. "Sometimes they go to a different meadow?" She laughed at Kore's audible groan. "My name's Menthe, by the way."

"I'm Kore – or Persephone, depending on who you ask. But I guess you already knew that." Something about this nymph seemed familiar. "I don't mean to be rude, but were we friends before…you know, everything? I just don't remember."

"I guess you could say we were acquainted at one point," Menthe said carefully. "I've been with this group since a little after you went to the Underworld."

Kore still couldn't place her, but something was nagging at her, and she knew it was important. "Menthe, hmm…" It hit her like a ton of bricks. "Oh, dear." She suddenly felt very embarrassed. "Ah…would you be anyone I've read about in a book of Greek mythology?"

Menthe laughed again, seeming as embarrassed as Kore was. "The very same, it seems. Yeah."

"So…um…sorry about that, I guess." It was strange to apologize for something she couldn't remember doing, but her past actions certainly merited it. She had turned the poor nymph into a _plant_, for goodness' sake. "Wait. I turned you into a plant. I mean, no offense or anything, but how come you're alive?"

"Well, I suppose you know everything leading up to it…"

Kore shook her head. She had read about the story in numerous books, but she wanted to know the real version.

The other girl sighed. "All right. Well, I was Hades'…mistress, I guess…for a while before he noticed you. When you went to live with him, I hadn't seen him for about a year, and I showed up out of the blue. It was pretty apparent that he didn't have the same feelings he once did, not since he'd found you, but I refused to believe it. So I stuck around, but he didn't…well, he wouldn't, not after the first night, and I guess I shouldn't have done that, but I was upset…anyway, I wasn't effectively his _mistress_ at that point, I just lived there and he pretended he had brought me there to be a companion to you. Of course, it was blatantly obvious that I _hated _you, but you didn't seem to pick up on it – oh, I'm not saying you're dumb! Really, I just - "

Kore was possibly even more confused than before and waved at Menthe to stop. "Why did you hate me?"

"Because he loved you and didn't love me anymore." Kore didn't have anything to say to that, so Menthe continued. "It went on like that. I kept trying to make him…um, sleep with me again, but, like I said he wouldn't." She blushed. "And then, one night, I kind of just went to him and said that you'd told me that I could be his mistress. I'm sorry! I was a little drunk. And you walked in and saw us kissing and flipped out. Then the next morning you…turned me into a mint plant. That's it," she lied. She had left a few choice bits out, but the poor goddess didn't look like she would be able to handle _those_ details. Hell, she wasn't handling the censored story well. "Um…you're kinda pale…are you okay?"

Covering her face, Kore moaned, "I turned you into a friggin' _plant_. And now you're standing here talking to me as if we're friends! Explain, please."

"Well, after a few years, once everything was straightened out and you had the part-time schedule going on, you started feeling really bad about the transformation thing. So you went back to the original mint plant – by this time, you'd planted sprigs of me all over the world, you're such a nature goddess – and kind of un-transformed me. Nymphs are immortal too, you know, as long as their plant stays alive. So I just turned right back. You obviously didn't want me hanging around the Underworld, though, so you had me swear on the River Styx that I would always be with _this_ particular company of nymphs." Menthe grimaced. "Apparently you were still a little bitter."

"But you don't seem to hate me…"

She grinned. "No, we used to hang out during the summers. We got kinda close, and we _should _be friends anyway. After all, we're the only two women who've ever seen Hades naked!"

Kore blanched visibly. "I…I've seen Hades naked?"

Menthe giggled. "We certainly do have a lot of catching up to do!"

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­

A/N: Huzzah for updates!

**Artemis**: Hey babe! No, I wasn't intending Demeter to be like your mother. stares disapprovingly

**Elvenarchess**: Hope you liked it!

**EvilFairy42**: I'm glad you're still reading and I hope this chapter was worth the wait…sweatdrop I'm not sure about the diary entries though. 'Twas an experiment.

**Angel.of.music**: First of all, awesome name. Feel free to keep bugging me in the form of reviews! cough that goes for everyone cough

**Lendielstar**: Yay! I have updated! Thanks for your kind comments!

**Blood-in-the-Stars**: Thank you!

**Silveni**: Yeah, I start to think my story is long until I look at what my sister writes. She mocks my pathetic 5 page chapters…with good reason probably. I was switching between Kore and Kora because she was confused, but now it's sticking with Kore (at least until it becomes Persephone..muahahaha)

**Blackpen**: I'm glad you like it. To be honest, based on your profile, I didn't expect this story to be up your alley. But thanks for giving it a shot!

**BulgarianSeeker24**: Yes, Demeter's a bit of a psycho. It's not really her fault though. I'm glad you like Hades. 


	14. The Ball

Chapter Fourteen: The Ball

Luckily for Kore, Menthe's companionship helped the days pass more quickly. The two quickly bonded over their mutual dislike for the ninnies surrounding them, and the daily afternoon excursions into the meadow were no longer quite so dreary. Kore enjoyed talking with Menthe, hearing stories about her rediscovered relatives. Occasionally one of the nymphs would break in with a scandalous bit of information about a couple (usually one of the couple would be Aphrodite), but for the most part they left the goddess and her friend alone. They lost interest in her after she informed them that she was not, had never been, and would never _allow_ herself to be courted by Hermes.

Almost before she realized it, it was her last day on Olympos, and she and Menthe were walking back to the mountain to prepare for the ball that was being thrown as a kind of "going-away" party.

"It's tradition," Menthe explained. "They always did it before you left for the Underworld – maybe to get your mother drunk enough that she wouldn't be _completely_ broken-hearted. Over the years it evolved into a HUGE celebration of the beginning of the harvest, and it even carried down to the mortals. Well, that part's gone now, but everyone is incredibly psyched for the party again. And _everyone_ will be there – including your beloved hubby."

"I can't honestly believe that my mother would have allowed him to attend a party celebrating my last day on Earth." She winced. "What a weird phrase."

"Well, no, she wasn't happy about that, but you insisted once it became an all-inclusive affair. You felt it wasn't fair that every single nymph and satyr was invited and he, a major god, wasn't." She smirked. "After awhile, he just started spending the night and you two left for the Underworld in the morning."

Kore sighed. It was comments like that that were making her feel so awkward about seeing Hades again. Menthe never said anything _outright_, but her insinuations were enough to make Kore very uncomfortable. The fact remained, that, however married they had been in her past life (as she was coming to think of that time as), they hadn't had a real conversation since the evening of their "date" so long ago. He seemed like a stranger and she was not looking forward to spending the next two weeks with him. Underground.

Menthe tugged on her arm. "Ah, come on, don't look so down! It's a party! It's fun! There's music and dancing and good food _and_ you get to wear a gorgeous dress. C'mon, we need to get ready!" The nymph dragged her into the palace and Kore allowed herself to get a little caught up in her friend's excitement. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad…

* * *

Hades was nervous. And when he was nervous, he had a tendency to pace, which he was now doing. Twenty steps across the width of the room, in front of the thrones. Wall. Turn around. Twenty steps back to the other side of the room. Another wall. Turn around. Twenty steps…

"You are going to wear a hole in the marble."

"Shut up. I think it will create a nice effect."

"Yes, well, while that _could_ be interesting, it would also be expensive to replace once you got tired of it. That marble's antique, you know."

"What's it like up there in the world of people who actually have to pay for things?"

"All right, that's enough stalling. You are coming to the party," said Hypnos.

"I don't think they want me there."

"Like that's ever stopped you before." When no response came, Hypnos stepped in front of the god, forcing him to stop pacing. "Look, you can't hide down here forever. If you want to win her back, you have to get out there and actually _make _an_ effort!_"

Hades' jaw clenched tightly. "It doesn't seem like she wants me to make an effort." He turned around and headed for the door that led into the palace's inner chambers.

"Hades, the poor girl's had her memory erased! Why don't you just go to the stupid – "

"Because she doesn't love me anymore!" Hades blurted out. "I don't understand why she can't even remember how much we cared for each other! She looks at me like I'm a stranger and she doesn't seem to want to get to know me again! It's so completely fucked up – I don't even know why I should bother. Everyone would be a whole lot happier if I just stayed down here and let it go."

"_You_ wouldn't."

"Thank you, Hypnos, for that dazzling display of insight." He sighed. "I don't know…"

"Look, pretend the wall is Zeus and yell at it for a couple of seconds."

That idea had its merits. Hades screamed profanities at the unresponsive stone and immediately felt better. Smiling, he gestured towards the outer door. "Let's go."

* * *

Kore stood just outside the door leading into one of Olympos' many ballrooms. Pressing her ear against it, she heard laughter and chatting and music – and she knew immediately that she couldn't go in. "Menthe, I can't do this."

"Don't start freaking out now. Come on, the music's already started…" She grabbed Kore's arm and started to open the door, but the goddess pulled her back hard.

"I mean, I really, really _can't do this_! I don't…I don't think I can go in there and see them all and they're all going to be expecting me to know them but I _don't_ I can't _remember_ who they are! This is crazy!" Her voice was becoming increasingly shrill and squeaky. "Why should they even want me there if I don't know who they are? I…I…I'm hyperventilating! I don't hyperventilate! Wait, what if I do? What if I really _do _hyperventilate and I just can't remember it! Oh my god. Menthe!" She turned to the girl next to her desperately. "Do I hyperventilate?"

Menthe had an amused expression on her face. "Clearly. All right, come sit down." She led the way to a bench against the wall and Kore meekly followed. "Kore, you know that these people are your _family_, right?"

"Yes, but – "

"And family members don't like to see each other miserable, right?"

"I know, but – "

"So you really need to stop being so nervous. All of those immortals in there," she gestured, "are people who know you and who have missed you for the past fifty years. They don't care that you don't remember them yet. Remember, your memory loss is only temporary. After you make your choice, Mnemosyne will work with you, and eventually everything will be just like it always was." She cheerfully patted Kore's hand. "Now, is there anything else that's worrying you?"

Kore hesitated and shook her head. Then she opened her mouth and a rush of words flew out. "Hades is going to be there and I don't know him but he's my husband and tomorrow I have to go live with him underground and I'm _scared_!" She buried her face in her hands. "This whole thing _sucks_!"

"No! Kore…" Kore didn't look up. "Hades is a good guy. He's not going to hurt you. He worships the ground you walk on, and he's going to devote pretty much every waking moment in the Underworld to making sure you have a fantastic time." Lifting Kore's head, she inquired, "Don't you _want_ to get to know him? Aren't you the least bit curious?"

Blushing, the goddess murmured a "Maybe." A slight smile crept onto her face. "He really worships the ground I walk on?"

"Well, you're a goddess, after all. And you are dressed _gorgeously_."

She grinned. "I am, aren't I?" She was wearing a lilac peplos with magenta trim along the border. It was fastened at the shoulders with two golden pins about the size of marbles and left her arms bear. Cinched with a girdle just below her breasts, and again at her waist, it showed off her figure to its best advantage. Her golden sandals, laced halfway up her legs, were visible through the modest slits in the sides of the dress. "You think he'll like it?" Menthe couldn't help but smirk as she saw Kore beginning to admit to herself that she had some feelings for her husband. "After all, it's not as if he's bad-looking….And he's been incredibly kind…Menthe?"

"Yes?"

"My mother won't be _too _mad if it…if it turns out that I want to stay w– "

Menthe shushed her quickly. "No time for worries right now! We are going to go in and party!" Brushing her own fears away, she pulled open the door and the two entered the hubbub.

* * *

A few hours later, the party was in full force and louder than ever, due to the wine that had been flowing freely from the start. And Hades, as per usual, was bored out of his wits. Not given to heavy drinking (although occasions like these usually made him want to start), he found he had trouble "relaxing" as much as his extended family. This added to the fact that nobody was talking to him made for a fairly dull evening.

"Hey, handsome, why so glum?"

Startled, he looked up to see Menthe standing above him, clutching a glass of wine and holding another out to him. He took it and sighed. "I see you've managed to find my little corner of sobriety and boredom." He was seated on a bench that was fortuitously shielded by a large potted plant. It was his customary Olympian ball hangout.

Menthe snorted. "No self-pity allowed. It never really suited you. So," she plopped down next to him and leaned comfortably against his shoulder. "I couldn't help but notice that you're not exactly trying to woo your bride. And considering Demeter has already claimed a headache and gone to bed, I see no reason you shouldn't be out there dancing the night away."

"Except, of course, the small matter of Persephone being mad at me for tricking her into coming here and the rest of Olympos shooting daggers at me for the trouble I've caused them with Demeter. Again." He gulped some wine, then scowled, "Besides, she hasn't exactly been lacking in dance partners."

"She's not mad, but I admit that maybe it's been a little difficult for you to ask her." Since Kore had made her entrance into the room, she had been whisked from partner to partner, in dance after dance, with hardly a moment for her to grab anything to eat. Menthe knew the girl was exhausted, and figured now was the best moment for Hades to try to talk to her. "She seems to be very popular this evening. Especially with Hermes…" The nymph gestured towards the main floor, where the messenger god was once again waltzing with Kore, who looked pained both physically and mentally.

Menthe could almost see Hades' proverbial shackles rise. "Oh, so he thinks he can just swoop in and steal her right from under my nose? We'll see about that!" He swallowed the last of his wine and stood up. "Right, I'm going in!"

She grabbed his arm. "Be chivalrous. She's still scared of you, so don't go and punch him or anything."

He looked indignant. "Of course not. Wouldn't dream of punching a family member." Menthe laughed as he walked away and heard him mutter, "Except Zeus, of course."

* * *

Kore couldn't understand it. She really couldn't. Why on earth did everyone want to dance with her?

"And then Ares was totally, like, there's no _way_ you can throw that discus farther than me, and then I was like, 'Wanna bet?' And then we, like…um, _threw_ the discus…"

And why, especially, did Hermes feel the need to enlighten her about the particulars of his athletic competitions with Ares (with whom, by the way, she had also danced, until Aphrodite had angrily pulled him away)? Her feet were killing her, her throat was dry, and (she winced) a slight rumbling in her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten more than a slice of pita all evening.

A smooth, deep voice interrupted her thoughts. "May I cut in?" She turned and gasped to see Hades, whom she had been rather grateful to avoid all evening, standing behind her and extending a hand. Again, she had to admit that he was very attractive. He was taller than her by several inches, with black hair that was held somewhat out of his face by a golden circlet – his crown, she assumed. Of course, he was dressed in black as well, in a short tunic that was clearly woven of expensive cloth, despite its lack of decoration. Kore glanced up at him and was immediately caught by his eyes. There was something enticingly familiar about sinking into their dark depths, and, for some reason, she felt immediately at ease.

She was almost unconsciously reaching her hand to take his when Hermes butted in. "Hey, man, _I'm _dancing here. Wait your turn."

Hades smiled tightly. "I do hate to be rude, but I thought it might be a good idea if I was allowed at least _one_ dance with my wife, seeing as how we've hardly talked in fifty years." He glanced at her. "But, of course, if she would rather stay with you…"

"No! No, I think you're right, Hades," Kore quickly replied. She smiled apologetically at Hermes. "Maybe later."

Hermes shrugged. "Whatever. Yo, Chloris!" And he was off, chatting up a busty nymph who'd obviously had too much to drink.

"I guess he'll live with the disappointment," Hades said dryly, then quirked an eyebrow at Kore. "Shall we dance?" Without waiting for an answer, he swept her into the waltz that was still playing.

She immediately wanted to kick herself for sending Hermes away, for she found she was unable to meet his eyes. As they whirled across the ornate marble floor (everything was marble here!), in between other dancing couples, she stared determinedly at her feet, afraid to look up and see him watching her. She could feel him looking at her, or at least at her head, but by the time the music had stopped, neither one of them had uttered a single word.

Hades bowed and Kore curtsied, but before he could ask her for another round, she began walking off the dance floor. "I've been dancing all night, and I'd certainly like to rest for a bit," she explained as he followed her. She also hoped that maybe he would find someone else to dance with, but he very gallantly offered to get her something to eat. After being sure she was seated comfortably, he made off for the buffet.

Sighing, Kore untied her sandals and reclined on the blue velvet couch on which she was seated. Hades was simply too nice – she couldn't quite believe that he wasn't playing some sort of trick on her. She knew (because everyone felt the need to remind her) that he was supposed to be madly, madly in love with her, _and_ that she had once reciprocated his feelings. At this point, however, it was entirely too weird to think about.

He was back, carrying a goblet and a plate full of food, whose scents made her stomach growl louder than ever. "Here you are, Persephone. Some of your old favorites."

She inspected the plate when he handed it to her. There were spanakopitas, stuffed grape leaves, some sort of meat pastry, and, of course, a small heap of pomegranate seeds. It all looked delicious, and she dug in, devouring the spinach and phyllo dough pie first. She had to admit, he did seem to know what she liked to eat. The liquid in the goblet was sweet and refreshing, and she looked at him in surprise. "Is this wine?"

"No, it's just nectar. You never used to like to drink too much."

Kore nodded, and went back to her meal. When she was finished draining the last sips of nectar from the cup, she wiped her mouth and looked straight at him. The food had given her some courage, and she decided to face her worries outright. "So, they tell me I'm going to live with you tomorrow."

Hades looked nervous. "Well, yes…I thought you knew about that beforehand…before you decided to try this… experiment?"

"Yes, I did. However, I feel like I hardly know you. It was different up here, because Demi – _Demeter_ is still my mother and I've lived with her forever. But you're different. Everyone says you're my husband, but I don't feel like your wife." She had spoken as gently as she could while being honest at the same time, but when he remained wordless she grew afraid that she had offended him. Not knowing what else to do, she whispered, "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "It's of course not your fault. I understand that you don't remember me, and I'm trying to accept that, but it hurts me." He fell silent for a minute, then spoke haltingly. "I just hope that…that you won't come into the Underworld tomorrow with the..._prejudices_ that I fear have been instilled in you these past two weeks."

She blushed and agreed that the Olympians had, on the whole, spoken negatively of the Underworld. "But Menthe has said that it's a nice place – and that you will be a perfect gentleman."

"Well, she would know, wouldn't she? And, you know, you won't be completely among strangers in the Underworld."

"I won't?" Kore looked up at him querulously.

"Menthe has agreed to come with you for the stay, if you will temporarily lift the ban on her leaving her group of nymphs." Hades wasn't entirely certain how Persephone would react to that idea. He knew they had become friends, but she had been _incredibly_ adamant all those years ago about keeping the nymph away from him.

He needn't have worried. "Menthe's coming?!" she practically shrieked with excitement. "That's great!" She knew that she could count on Menthe to help her through this visit, as she had helped her get through the mind-numbing hours of flower-weaving. All smiles, she turned to Hades again. "So, tell me more about the Underworld!"

* * *

The rest of the ball passed swimmingly, for Kore's fears had been completely squashed by the knowledge that Menthe would be coming with her. She was able to talk with Hades for the last two hours about his kingdom, and she found herself surprised that it intrigued her. It certainly sounded more interesting than what she had been forced to do the last two weeks.

­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­Sooner than she expected, the last few people in the room were heading off to bed, and she reluctantly arose. She smiled shyly at Hades and offered her hand. "Will you walk me to my room?"

"Whatever the lady wishes," he declared with mock chivalry, then grinned. "Do you still have trouble finding it?"

"Only a little," she admitted, laughing.

He guided her down the halls that she was finally beginning to consciously recognize until they reached the door of her room. "I'm staying the night, so I'll see you tomorrow morning. I think we're leaving after breakfast."

"Where do you stay?"

He pointed down to the adjoining room. "Remember, we share a wall. You heard everything we were talking about."

She grinned sheepishly. "Well, it's not like you were making an effort to keep your voices down." There was a silence, but it didn't feel awkward for some reason. Kore smiled. "Goodnight, Hades."

Hades seemed to hesitate, then he very quickly leaned in and kissed her lips. "Goodnight," he murmured, before hurrying to his room. She was left standing before her door, quite surprised, but inexplicably elated.

* * *

A/N: Such a short interval between chapters this time….lol. Thank you everyone who reviewed the last, and please continue to tell me what you think! I'll try to get started on the next part as soon as possible.e had helped her get through the mind-numbing hours of 


	15. The Underworld

Chapter 15: The Underworld

After Hades had left, Kore had a vague feeling that she ought to be indignant or angry at him for kissing her – but she wasn't, and that was confusing. Surely, if anyone else had presumed to do so, she would have slapped him. She hardly knew the man, after all!

She knew what her thoughts ought to be: 'How dare he! Does he think I'm going to just fall into his arms and be his wife again? He had no right to do that!' And she didn't know why, instead, she was wondering what it would be like to kiss him for real, for a long time.

She wondered if there would be an opportunity for that in the Underworld…and then tried to mentally slap herself back to her senses. "Oh, come off it, Kore. No one's that good a kisser." It came out louder than she expected, and she looked to the wall she shared with Hades, mortified. Had she just heard a laugh from the other room? Had he possibly heard that? She decided to ignore the wall and just not speak aloud anymore.

Laid on the shiny wooden table against the wall was her former self's diary. Kore hadn't opened it in the past two weeks, preferring to see for herself what Olympos was like, but she suddenly wanted to reread it, to see if it held any advice about the Underworld. She picked it up and flipped through the pages, till a phrase about Hades caught her eye.

'_I love him! I love Hades, and I cannot wait to tell him!_

_I can't quite believe it…am I mad? This man (this wonderful, beautiful man) did, after all, sort of kidnap me. But I can't help what I feel._

_He loves me, too, I know it! He must! Why would he have gone through all that trouble, if he didn't care? And that is how I know that what we did last night was completely right, and what I'm about to do now is even better. I have here, next to me as I write, a pomegranate. This bloody fruit has nearly driven me insane, but I'm going to eat (finally!!!!) and discover what it tastes like, at the same time binding myself here for eternity. I love him. I don't care what Mother will say. We're married (yes, in _every_ sense of the word, now), and I'm going to be his Queen. If Olympos doesn't like it, I don't care. They can't stop me. They won't be able to force me to stay on Earth, because I'll have eaten of the Underworld, and not even Zeus can override that. Hades and I will be able to be together forever!_

_Enough of this! I've waited long enough, and I'm going to eat!'_

The writing was scrawled – Persephone had obviously been in a hurry – and Kore thought she even saw a faded red fingerprint, left by a hand sticky with pomegranate juice.

After that entry, there were a few blank pages. The writing picked up again, but it seemed as if something was missing. Persephone now sounded older, she spoke more of affairs of running the Underworld (although every now and then a sentence would again proclaim "I love him!"). Kore was confused. Shouldn't there have been something about Olympos' reaction, Demeter, the official Olympian wedding, anything? Where were the explanations?

No one had told her exactly what happened. She knew only what she had learned about Greek mythology in school, and what she read in her old diary. Even Menthe was keeping some secrets, and her mother would never speak of anything that wasn't Earth or Olympos related. It was all quite maddening.

"Enough of this," she sighed, closing the book firmly and placing it in the satchel she had packed for the next day. "I'm going to bed."

* * *

Kore slept well, untroubled by dreams, and awoke energized and fairly excited about going to the Underworld. Menthe was already waiting outside when she emerged, and she smiled when she saw how Kore was dressed.

"You've got the Queen of the Underworld thing down pat, you know? Hades will love it."

"Well, it seemed appropriate." The girl was wearing the darkest thing she had found in her chest of clothes – a black peplos, low-cut and form-fitting, with the same golden girdle, pins, and sandals from the night before. Her hair was half-tied back into a bun, with the rest of it flowing down her shoulders, the same color as the gold trimming her dress. "When do I get my crown?"

"When we get home," Hades said, stepping out of his own room and closing the door behind him. "You look beautiful, my dear. Shall we?"

She blushed, and nodded. "Yes, let's go." The three started down the hallway, to the throneroom, where the Olympians would bid them good-bye.

In the hall, the immortals were seated on their thrones, looking a bit intimidating, Kore thought. Zeus, seated in the middle, had an especially grim expression on his face, and as she turned to the side, she saw her mother sobbing in her own throne. Struck with a horrible guilt, Kore ran to Demeter.

"Mom, it's okay, don't cry! It's only two weeks!"

Demeter clung to her only daughter desperately. "My baby! How can you stand the thought of going underground for that long?" She sniffed loudly and glared at Hades and Menthe before turning on Zeus. "I don't trust either one of them! Who is going to be protecting my Kore down there? You aren't honestly sending our daughter away with his ex-whore as her only company, are you?"

"_Mom!_ You can't _say_ that!"

"Shush, dear! The grown-ups are talking."

Hades broke into the conversation. "May I just say that _my wife_ will be as perfectly safe in _her own kingdom_ as she ever was, and isn't it about time for us to be leaving?"

Demeter began crying again, but Kore pried herself away. "Mom, I'll be fine. _I_ trust Menthe…and Hades," she added, shooting a quick glance his way, "and I'll be back before you know it." Leaving no more time for discussion, she grabbed Hades' arm and nodded at him. He took Menthe's hand and then the three were gone in a a haze of gray smoke. Demeter was left staring at the spot where her daughter had stood a moment ago, until Hestia approached her.

"Demi? Come on, let's go have a little talk." The goddess allowed herself to be guided out of the room by her older sister, and Hera, after exchanging an exasperated look with Zeus, followed.

Once the three sisters were safely shut in Hestia's sitting room, Demeter burst into fresh tears. "Hes', I can't stand it! How can she be going back to him? Doesn't she understand all the things he's put us through?"

"She loves him, Demi."

"No! She doesn't! She doesn't understand what love is, she's too young! If she understood, she would never be able to leave me!"

Hera sighed from where she was reclining against the wall. "Demeter, get a grip. She likes it in the Underworld, and you need to accept that. It's not a betrayal of you."

Demeter turned on her ferociously. "You're just glad that she's out of your way! You never liked her. You're happy to just have one less reminder of your husband's indiscretions!"

"Why, you little b - "

"ENOUGH!" Hestia shouted, making the other two immediately shut up. The goddess of the hearth was generally very reserved, so when she yelled, her siblings knew she meant it. "I am sick of you two arguing about that! It happened thousands of years ago, so let it go! Hera, please try to be a little more sympathetic towards Demeter's problem. How would you like it if one of your children lived somewhere else half the year?"

"I'd love it! I'm sick of them! They're so needy and childish – when on Earth are they going to grow up and move out?!"

"There!" Demeter smiled triumphantly. "Let's exchange one of Hera's daughters for mine! She doesn't seem to care about them, and she's got two!"

Hestia dropped her head into her hands in despair. "I swear, you two, one of these days you're going to drive me insane." She stood up. "Alright, Demeter, if you're not willing to work through this, I'm leaving." At the door, she turned back. "Oh, and I'll see you in two weeks at your daughter's wedding! I'm sure she'll be very happy with Hades – again."

"No!" Demeter ran to her sister. "Do you know how to stop it? Can you help me? Please, Hestia, I can't lose her again!"

"Demeter, sit down," Hestia murmured soothingly. "I agree with Hera on this – Kore likes it there, and she loves Hades. The sooner you can learn to accept it, the easier it will be for all of us."

* * *

Kore blinked as the gray mist settled around the trio of immortals, revealing…more gray. And black. Cavernous realms of gray and black. With a little silver to set it all off.

She raised an eyebrow. "This is it?"

"Home sweet home, my dear." Hades pointed in front of them. "Just up there, actually."

Squint as though she might, Kore could see nothing that could possibly be labeled "home". "I think I've gone blind. Did anyone ever tell you it's a bit dark down here?" She took a step forward and promptly tripped on a paving stone, falling forward ungracefully on her hands and knees. "Ow!"

"Oops. Should have warned you about that." He helped her up gently and she wiped the dusty soil off her dress. "There're stones set in the dirt that lead the way up to the palace."

"Have you considered maybe getting some lights installed, too?"

He sighed. "I'll lead the way. C'mon."

Kore grabbed his hand, not intending to fall again, and turned around to call to the nymph. "Menthe? You still there?"

Menthe, who had been staring around the cavern as if she could see perfectly, shook her head quickly. "Yeah. I'm coming." She didn't take Kore's extended hand, just followed the two with sure-footed ease on the nearly invisible stones.

* * *

When they reached the palace (after a few more falls and several choice curse words) Kore was pleased to realize that the building, at least, was lit. And while the lighting could certainly not be called fluorescent, she had to admit that the torches lent a nice touch and reflected well off the black marble and granite.

She turned around in a circle, taking it all in. Granite and marble, with candelabras. A red carpet that ran from the doorway to a raised dais on which two thrones sat imposingly. Two heavy-looking wooden doors, one on either side of the thrones. It was all very symmetrical.

Hades was looking at her expectantly. "It's nice. Is that my throne?" She pointed at the smaller of the two, which was inlaid with amethyst and ruby in the shape of a pomegranate. It had a red and purple seat cushion in a fabric that looked like velvet. When he nodded, she grinned. "I approve of the color choices."

"Well, you should. You picked them out."

"Ah."

And then there was silence. Awkward silence. Somehow, Hades felt this was not a sign of things going well. He looked to Menthe for help, but the nymph looked to be in a semi-catatonic trance, and he thought better of it.

Kore, having run out of compliments for the sparse room, counted the walls. There were four. Okay. She wondered if the next two weeks could possibly be more boring than the past ones.

Someone had to say _something_. "Can I – "

At the same time, Hades started, "Maybe we – "

"Oh, I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

"No, you go, you're the guest."

She smiled uncomfortably. "I was just wondering if I could see my room."

"Oh! Oh, yes, come on, this way." He began to lead her to the door, but Menthe, who had started paying attention again and looked extremely amused, stopped him.

"I'll show her. I think if you two spend any time alone you'll both expire from the awkwardness."

Looking very relieved, Hades watched the two women exit. As soon as the door had closed, he collapsed on his throne and groaned. "How the hell am I going to entertain her for _two weeks_?"

* * *

"You guys are so cute!"

"Shut up."

"No, really! The way neither of you seems able to talk to the other one, your fascinating conversations about furniture…"

"Shut UP." Kore scowled at Menthe, who seemed entirely too happy with the situation.

"Aw, come on, you know it's funny!"

"NO! It's really not! Now where is my room?"

Menthe pointed as they turned a corner. "Just there. It has your name on the door." Indeed, the wood was engraved to say "Persephone" in gold lettering. "_Hades'_ room is that door down there, just in case you ever get lonely at nigh – "

"SHUT UP!" Kore turned the doorknob and entered the room. It looked the same as it had when she'd woken up there a few weeks ago…and yes, there were still leaves on the ground from when her mother had attempted to strangle Hades with a vine. "Okay. Now what?"

"You go out there and proclaim your everlasting love and devotion!"

"_Menthe._"

"Fine!" the nymph shouted. "Figure it out for yourself then!" With that, she turned and stomped away around the corner and out of sight. Kore stared after her.

"What was that about?" she muttered, before closing the door and surveying the room before her. She longed for a computer or iPod. Instead, her choice of amusements appeared to be…

Um…

There had to be _something_ amusing in here…

* * *

Menthe stormed up the stairs to her old room on the second floor of the castle. The door was open, although it no longer held her name. Inside, the wardrobe and tables were completely empty. All of her dresses and jewelry appeared to be gone. She guessed the room had been converted to a guest chamber after she had left.

"What am I doing here?" the nymph wondered aloud. She was beginning to think that Persephone had been right in banning her from the Underworld – and that it had been a mistake to lift the ban for these two weeks. Things were not going well. She knew that she should keep the two immortals' best interests at heart, but she was finding it difficult to convince Kore about Hades. The more she thought about it, the more she praised him to the girl, the more she remembered why she had been attracted to him.

And that, she knew, was a very _bad_ thing to be remembering. It was impossible to forget what had happened the last time she'd let her feelings for Hades conquer her brain. Granted, she had been drunk at the time, but still. She had no wish to be stuck as a plant for another hundred years.

She couldn't help feeling, however, that Kore didn't really deserve him. She didn't even seem to care! She thought she would be bored down here! If Menthe were in her place, she and Hades wouldn't have been in the palace two minutes before they were going at it against the wall –

"Whoa! Bad thought, there!" She slapped herself gently. "Let's not go through that again. That time is over." Best to keep reminding herself of that. Still, she wasn't quite in the mood to play matchmaker just then.

"I wonder how much Elysium has changed since then." She remembered a certain man with whom she'd had a "relationship" as a nymph before he'd fallen off a roof and broken his neck. It could be worth checking out…

* * *

Kore was very, very, very bored. She had found a deck of cards in the desk drawer and played a few (hundred) games of solitaire. She had gone through the wardrobe and put the clothes in rainbow order (except that most of them were black or purple). She had even made the bed (and then unmade it and remade it a few more times. And then, thrown a pillow about for a while.) Now she was out of ideas.

Menthe seemed to have deserted her. Hades hadn't come by. And she had no idea how to get around the palace. She was stranded in her own room. It was sort of like being grounded, except she had no chance of sneaking out once her mom fell asleep.

She flopped down on the carpet next to her bed and hit her head on the marble. "Ow. Hey, what's that?" There was a box underneath the bead that she hadn't noticed before. Kore crawled underneath and opened the lid. The hinges creaked a little, but it looked to be in good shape.

She gasped in surprise and excitement. Brightly colored pieces of jewelry glistened at her. Necklaces, bracelets, earrings, rings, and things she didn't even have names for, laden with all sorts of gems. She squealed and began to rummage through the pile of finery, looking for what would match best. This heavy silver necklace, onyx earrings, ooh, was that a tiara…

"Kore? Are you in here?"

The girl tried to jump up and hit her head on the underside of the bed. "Ow! Shit, how many times am I going to do that today?" She watched as a pair of legs came through the door and crossed the room to stand in front of her.

"Hello, Kore."

"Um, hi." She wriggled out and stood, blushing. "There's a whole mess of jewelry down there."

"I can see that." Hades seemed to be trying not to laugh.

"What?" He merely pointed to the mirror. Kore tentatively walked to it, then shrieked and covered her face in horror. Her hair was a mess, standing up with static, and her black dress was gray with dust all down the front. The jewelry she had just put on only heightened the look of her as a bag-lady playing dress-up. Now that she saw them in the light, she realized that the pieces she had chosen were tackily huge and covered with too many jewels.

"Oops. They looked better under the bed."

He chuckled. "That's where you kept all the jewelry that you got as presents but couldn't stand to wear."

She had to laugh. "Ohh. That makes sense."

There was a pause, but he was not going to let this awkward silence thing become a habit. "I'm sorry there hasn't been much for you to do all day."

"Yeah, Menthe kind of ran off, and I've just been…hanging out, I guess. I won at solitaire a few times!"

"Good! Would you like to join me for dinner?"

Kore looked surprised. "It's dinnertime already?" He nodded. "Okay, why not? What're we having?"

"Uh, I actually hadn't thought that far ahead," he admitted sheepishly. "Why don't you…dust off a bit, and I'll tell the cooks to make something. What would you like?"

She grinned. "How about some pomegranate seeds?"

A smile broke out on his face, as realized she was a bit more open to this arrangement than he had thought before. "Sounds great. I'll come back to get you in a few minutes. Tomorrow you'll get the grand tour and you can start to figure out how to get around."

"Okay." She was relieved that they were able to talk to each other now. Remembering the "Spring Queen" incident on Olympos, she figured that all it took to break the ice was her being found dressed like an idiot. It was kind of worth it, because he was disturbingly attractive when he smiled.

As he was leaving, he called back, "Oh, there're some maids here to help you dress. They can also show you around if you need it."

Maids? She'd never had maids before. Was clothing really that difficult to put on? Her thoughts were interrupted by a matronly figure who rushed into the room and immediately embraced the girl and reminded her disturbingly of her mother.

"Persephone, milady, we've missed you!"

* * *

A/N: Whoot!

Thank you all for your reviews, but especially The Wise Owl Athena, of whom I am a bit in awe. I've never had that many reviews from one person for a chapter. I'm afraid I won't be able to update quite as frequently as you would seem to like, but I'll do my best! Thank you for the encouragement!


	16. The First Night

Chapter 16:

The older maid's name was Nera, and she was almost exhaustingly enthusiastic about their queen's return to the Underworld. The other one – Oenone – was much quieter, but Kore had caught her smiling a few times. Nera, at any rate, didn't seem to be able to acknowledge that Kore had no memory of the Underworld. She was chattering on and on (there was a lot of chattering going on lately, Kore was noticing – was it a Greek thing?) about new additions to the serving staff, to replace those who had gone on to their rebirth, and the proposed extension to the judge's chamber, and didn't Milady Persephone look so lovely with her hair braided like that around her crown? Kore was doing a lot of nodding and smiling, trying to be friendly, and it seemed to suffice for Nera.

It was more that half an hour before she was primped and polished to the maids' satisfaction (her dressed having been dusted off and non-tacky jewelry affixed to her ears). They pushed her out the door without further ado, so that she nearly ran into Hades.

He looked like he'd been waiting a while. "I'd forgotten how much they dote on you. I should have known better than to expect you to be ready in a few minutes. What do you think of them?"

"Nera…talks…a fair amount," Kore said carefully, trying to be diplomatic. "Maybe it was just because I was gone for so long…"

"No, that's just Nera," Hades chucked ruefully. "There are rumors that her own children poisoned her just for the sake of quiet." Kore looked horrified and he immediately fell over himself trying to explain. "No, see, that was a joke, sorry, it wasn't that funny, I mean, you develop a kind of morbid sense of humor down here - "

Kore burst out laughing. "I was messing with you. I'm not that horrified. Hades…" she paused, looking for the right words. "I think you need to loosen up a little around me. I'm here for the two weeks, at least, I'm not going to be running away." _'I couldn't_,' she thought to herself, _'I don't know how we got here.'_ "So you shouldn't worry so much about doing everything 'perfect', or whatever."

He looked at her for a few seconds, and then smiled, wide. "That sounds like _you_, Seph. You have no idea how happy that makes me."

She shrugged, a little embarrassed and a little happy that he was happy. "Well, I just don't want to have to spend another afternoon playing dress-up under the bed, you know?"

"Yeah, I figured that." They started walking down the corridor, to the dining room, she assumed.

"It's dusty under there," she reminded him.

"Oh, believe me, I know. The staff never seems to get around to cleaning underneath the furniture. I guess they don't _expect_ immortals to be crawling around on the floor…"

"Hey, I wouldn't have had to do that if you hadn't been all weird - "

"Oh, so now I'm weird? Is that it? Nice way to talk to your husband."

She simply laughed and followed him through the door to their dinner.

* * *

For some reason, the awkwardness that had plagued the two of them earlier in the day had dissipated. Probably, Kore mused, it was because they had realized that there was really nothing for them to do but pretend it wasn't at all awkward. She was relieved. Since Menthe had run off earlier (where was that nymph anyway?), Hades was really the only source of company she had. Well, there was Nera, but that woman was a little too similar to her mother to be in her top choices.

But they had managed to talk throughout the meal. Hades asked her about her life on Earth, and she found herself reminiscing about her high school friends as if she had last seen them years ago instead of months. And then, tentatively, Kore had asked about the Underworld. She'd avoided the subject she was most deeply interested it – that is, her personal relationship with Hades – but generic questions about the running of a kingdom seemed safe enough. He was more than happy to wax poetic about the different realms in his world, promising to take her to visit each and every one during the next two weeks.

And maybe it wouldn't be too bad, she thought. They had moved out into the courtyard for a dessert of honey cakes and figs. Her eyes were adjusting to the constant darkness and she could now make out more nuances in the landscape. It wasn't a barren, flat land at all. Beyond the immediate gardens (for there were gardens around the palace, and she was looking forward to inspecting them properly in the morning) (oh, that was a thought. How did they know when it was morning here?), there were rolling hills covered in the same pale green stuff she'd seen from her window. Beyond them, a valley, mountains, and the eerie pale glow. Hades had told her the light came from the Elysian Fields, where the good went to live out their afterlives until their reincarnations.

It was almost beautiful, in its own way. She could understand why someone might be drawn to it. Why someone might choose to stay and rule over it, even if it meant giving up half a life in the sun.

"Are you tired?"

His voice broke her from her thoughts, and she realized that they'd been sitting in a companionable silence for quite some time. Kore nodded, and yawned. "How do you guys keep track of days and nights and stuff down here?"

"Clocks."

Huh. So that wasn't a huge mystery, at any rate. She shrugged and accepted his hand as he held it out to her. Not because she didn't think she could find her way back to her room – the palace was already starting to seem fairly familiar to her – but because she found she simply wanted to hold his hand. It was comforting. It felt right, to have to her hand clasped in his as they strolled through the halls of their home.

She didn't object when he kissed her goodnight again, not even in her head afterwards, when he had gone and she was tucked into the soft black sheets of her bed. In fact, she replayed the kiss over and over again as she was falling asleep. Like the warmth of his hand around hers, it was familiar and comforting.

She thought, as she drifted off, that she might find herself liking Hades much more than she had originally thought.

* * *

A/N: Um...hi!

I'm back! I bet you never expected to hear from me again, did you? Pretty much I just hate leaving things unfinished and I found myself randomly looking at this story again this evening and realizing that I rather wanted to finish it. We'll see how it goes. My profile explains the situation more

Anyway, this is kind of a filler chapter, to help me start to get back into the feel of the story (it's been TWO YEARS since I last wrote anything for it, and that's a loooong time). Not a lot happening, shorter than usual. I'm traveling for two weeks as of tomorrow, so I won't be able to write again at least till the end of July. But you might expect to see an update again this summer.

Love to all who are reading this, and especially to those who care to review!


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